


The Secrets of the Stars

by FuzzyBeta



Series: The Augmented Reality [3]
Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, F/M, Family, Friendship/Love, Gen, Multi, Original Character(s), Other, Outer Space, Science Fiction, Secret Organizations
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-10
Packaged: 2019-05-20 03:12:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 83,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14886542
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FuzzyBeta/pseuds/FuzzyBeta
Summary: Is it possible for friendships to transcend time, space and other realities? Cadet Layla Pike never thought so, until one fine day Starfleet intercepts a distress signal from the planet Vulcan. What is this big secret that Starfleet is hiding? Will Layla and the Enterprise survive the mysteries the future has in store? Or will they fall into darkness?





	1. Prologue

_"The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why."_

_\- Mark Twain_

**Star-date 2241.218**

The medical staff are astounded by the raging squalls from the tiny, blood and placenta covered newborn infant they have been currently carefully pulling out of a C-section incision. They quickly cut the umbilical cord and set to work repairing the mother's skin while a midwife on standby takes the baby in a cloth and wipes carefully at its head to take off any excess fluids.

However, they do not take the child to the mother. Instead, they walk over to a much older man who was standing in the corner of the room doing his best to stay out of the way of the working surgeons and nurses.

He is wearing a black uniform with a blue torso, his brown and grey hair combed neatly back and his dark eyes sharp with a quiet but dark uneasiness as he looks up at the approaching woman.

"How is he?" He asks a slightly sharp edge to his voice as he stands up to look down on the infant she carries

"I think you mean 'how is  _she_?'…sir…" The midwife corrects him carefully, avoiding his eye.

She is a middle-aged woman with smooth dark skin and black hair flecked with grey and has seen and delivered many babies in her lifetime; however, it is still not wise to one-up an admiral an Admiral, especially one like Alexander Marcus

Marcus looks down into the still squalling infant's face. Her skin is still rather red but he can discern a small tuft of dark black fuzz atop of her round fragile head. She's barely seven pounds in weight and small as well in length. He frowns at this.

"Kind of on the small side isn't she? Considering her heritage"

"With all due respect sir, I hardly find this surprising. Every baby grows differently during the gestation period, no matter what heritage they come from _._ " The Midwife gulps realising her sass a little too late, but Marcus doesn't seem offended at all. In fact, he seems genuinely intrigued. She inwardly sighs in relief and proceeds to explain herself " _they_  may have been more superior to us in means of intelligence and strength but in many ways they too were still very much as human as you or I. All I can theorise from my experience in my profession is that her current physical state is probably similar to that her biological genetic providers' was at this point in their lifetime, like so many other normal children. And even then who knows what she will become later"

"Who knows indeed, now may I?" he holds out both his hands forwards but she hesitates. Marcus smiles, though his eyes are cold and she still doesn't hand over the child.

"Oh come now Nurse Jefferson, I'm a happily married man with a daughter of my own. I can assure you I know how to hold a baby" he chuckles in a light-hearted manner though she can see the rest of his body language his patience with her is wearing thin.

Jefferson sighs in defeat as she hands over the now mewling child into her superiors arms.

"Only for a moment while I go fetch the formula then I have to give her, her first feed"

"Of course Jefferson, of course," Marcus waves her off looking down at the little babe in his arms.

"All that hard work, hours researching your kind…your potential…ten months getting you prepped and ready" He mutters softly. Nurse Jefferson, who is now just only a few feet away pauses, feeling her gut drop badly as she hears the man's next words float into her ears.

"Now let's see what you can do"

"Alex!" a voice called and Admiral Marcus turned to see a man in his thirties running into the room looking frantic. He had short brown hair and light blue eyes that were filled with worry as he looked around the room. Unlike Marcus, he was dressed in the standard grey Captain's dress uniform usually seen worn by normal Starfleet regulation, though it was sufficiently crinkled and unkempt due to the hurry of its wearer.

"Chris there you are" Marcus's cold smirk quickly transformed into a warm friendly grin at the sight of the haphazard officer "You missed all the fun. They're just patching Helene up now"

"I know and I am so sorry I'm late. I tried to get the first shuttle I could but still-Is she-" Chris panted as he made to run up to his friend only to stop dead in his tracks as he caught sight of the small swaddled bundle in the Admiral's arms.

"Yes, she's fine Chris…" Marcus's smile widened as he shifted his arms to reveal the tiny scrunched up red face of the little infant "both her and your daughter are fine"

"May I…may I…hold her?" Chris breathed and Marcus nodded.

"Of course, you are her father. Legally that is, now that you and Helene have exchanged vows" but even as he said this the admiral seemed to have had no qualms about handing the little baby girl over to his friend who was quick to hold her securely against his chest.

As Chris looked down at the girl he almost felt his heart melt. Though she didn't bear any of his features, what with her jet black hair and pale skin, she was still nonetheless the most beautiful thing he'd ever laid eyes on, not counting his new wife.

He felt the corners of his eyes prick with tears of joy as he saw two tiny eyes opened to reveal murky pools of swirling light blue.

"It doesn't matter that we don't have the same genes" He murmured down to the little babe who began to mewl with interest at his face. "In fact, that just makes what familial bond we will have all the more special"

"Always the sentimentalist" Marcus chuckled though something in his eyes turned slightly cold as he continued to watch his friends cooing "What shall you name her?"

"Well" Chris smiled, still not taking his eyes off the child in his arms and not noticing his friend's strange demeanour "Helene always liked the name Layla and I did agree to let her pick the name, but…but I rather found I always preferred the name, Serena…"

He trailed off looking up at Marcus with a slightly pleading expression.

Marcus quickly forced a smile back on his face as he suggested at the top of his head.

"Why don't you give her both names? Layla as the first and Serena as the second. That way it's a win-win for both of you"

"Yes…" Chris murmured softly looking back down to stare at the little blue eyes which were still looking innocently up at him "Layla Serena Pike…it's perfect"

 


	2. Drinks on Me

**Star-date 2255.202 – San Fransisco (16:30)**

It was quiet in the large apartment as a pale young fifteen-year-old girl strode through the front door of the Pike household in a huff.

She was petite for her age dressed in long black leggings over which she wore a dark blue long sleeved hooded top that ended just mid-thigh. On her feet boots were fitted, snugly covering up her slender feet in slightly scuffed and soft black leather that matched her bag and jacket almost perfectly.

"Mum! Dad! I'm home!" she called loudly as she stepped through the door, into a large open living space.

In it a man and woman were standing and talking in frantic hushed whispers. The man, Christopher, was tall and had brown hair flecked with small grey hairs, with light blue eyes that were currently set in a small concerned frown as he listened to his wife, Helene's, voice.

She was shorter than him by about a head but was strikingly beautiful, what with her soft face, long strawberry blonde curls, her snow white skin and her bright green eyes that quickly swivelled about as the young girl entered the room cautiously.

"Oh Layla you're back"

"Uh yeah…I am…uhh…Should I come back later or-" the girl, Layla, pointed to a set of stairs that led up onto an upper level but her mother shook her head.

"No it's alright we were both going to talk to you anyways"

Layla bit her lip nervously as she ran her fingers over her knuckles behind her back.

"Is this about what happened with Byron, because if it is then you should know that he started it!"

"What happened with Byron?" Christopher asked sharply and she quickly gulped.

"Nothing! Nothing! What was it that you wanted to talk about?"

Both her parents exchanged glances that were torn between amusement and exasperation, though whether it was directed at her Layla didn't know.

"Take a seat" her father motioned to the couch and she quickly sat, her back rigid with her nerves as she saw her parents once more exchange glances.

"Mum, Dad… What's going on?"

"Layla" Helene's voice was calm and collected as she sat down beside her daughter "some very big news has just come from Starfleet Command"

"Is Dad getting reassigned again" Layla asked worriedly but Christopher shook his head

"No, I'm not. Thank heavens no" he added in an undertone before coughing "no actually they called about you"

"Me?" Layla spluttered "what would Starfleet Command want with me?"

"It's nothing bad Layla" Helene said gently putting a hand on her daughter's shoulder. "They want to offer you a place in the Academy."

"They what?!" Layla's eyes were bulging as she looked between her parents in shock "But…but I thought only those above the age of eighteen could apply"

"And they do" Christopher nodded his face turning grave "but sometimes Command can bend the rules if they think you're ready. And they do. They've seen your recent school test results. They're off the charts for your age group. Not to mention your strength and athleticism far exceeds that of even your oldest peers"

"Yeah, yeah! I'm a super-strong super-genius freak" Layla snorted though she sounded far from being happy or smug at the prospect. "I know, I get told that every day at school. I don't need my parents reminding me"

"Layla" Helene frowned but Layla was already waving her off.

"Mum I get it ok! You're my family, you don't care what I am and you still love me. But it still won't change the fact that no matter what school I go to or what I do, I don't belong anywhere. Why should Starfleet Academy be any different?"

"Because" Christopher frowned concernedly "Starfleet Academy isn't just a school. It's a primary training facility for Starfleet Officers"

"Which is just another fancy way of saying boot camp" Layla muttered under her breath as she rolled her eyes "And we all know how boot camp went"

"Layla, what did I say about interrupting your father when he's talking?" Helene said sternly and Christopher sighed heavily.

"It's alright Helene. I've got this. Layla" his voice now turned deadly serious as he fixed his young teenage daughter with stern eyes "Please listen to me. I know school's never been easy for you, but you can't keep going on aimlessly between institutions like this. You've already picked more fights this year with both your teachers and peers than ever before and you're this close" he held his index finger and thumb barely a centimetre apart "from getting another suspension. You need stability and order in your life"

"And you think the Academy will do that for me?" Layla narrowed her eyes but Christopher wasn't swayed.

"Yes it might. It's different at the Academy; their expectations are tougher and you'll have to behave under stricter rules and regulations, but if you give it a chance, the rewards will far out way any difficulties. Their curriculum is advanced, far more than anything your teachers are currently giving you. Not to mention the culture is different. Here on Terran schools you're mostly surrounded by young biased idiots that can barely understand the basics of the world around them, let alone understand other people. There at the academy the age group is more mature and the people are diverse. There aren't just humans attending but other species from other systems too, species with higher intelligences. Why we even have a Half-Vulcan instructor on the staff and he's teaching physics, computing and xenolinguistics"

"He sounds inspiring" Layla commented dryly and Christopher shook his head.

"Layla please just think about it. This could be a great opportunity, one that Starfleet's practically offering it up to you on a silver platter! If you worked hard you could even end up serving on board a Starship in four years by the time you're nineteen. That's just in time for the new five year missions they're planning with the new Constitution ships. I mean think about it. That's deep space travel of uncharted territory. How many nineteen year olds do you think get to experience such a chance?"

There was a silence as Layla looked up into her father's face. He was frowning but in his eyes there was also a pleadingly keen look.

She quickly turned her head and saw the same look in her mother's eyes as well.

She sighed heavily and turned her pale eyes down to her lap. She'd be lying to herself if she said that she didn't find the prospect of going into deep space exciting. Which young teenager wouldn't? But still…

"Dad…" she pinched the bridge of her nose "it's just…Starfleet Academy…won't anybody be pissed that a Captain's daughter kinda…jumped the queue?"

"She has a point Chris" Helene gave a pointed glance at her husband but he just shrugged.

"You don't have to parade to anyone that you're my daughter if you don't want to. There have been plenty of kids and grandkids of other Starfleet officers quietly attending the academy for years anyway. Also if you're really that worried about what people will think of your eligibility you can take the admissions test along with everyone else. That way you've applied fair and square and no one can argue your position even if they do find out. But I don't think you'll really have a problem with that. Once you're in, you're in and no one can do anything about it really"

But Layla still looked unsure as she ran a hand through her long black hair as she turned to look at her mother.

"And what do you think about this?"

"I think" Helene squeezed her daughter's hand tight "I think your father has a point Layla. You've been struggling to fit into Terran society for so long. This could be a good opportunity for you to start over. You might be a little young in comparison to the rest of your peers but Chris is right when he says that the Academy is more open minded about the cadets admitted. Why I think just last semester they admitted a young Russian boy about your age, what was his name again?"

"Chekov" Christopher piped in "Pavel Chekov. His accent's a bit thick and he's a bit shy at first but he's a real whiz kid."

"Wow so a half-vulcan teacher and a Russian  _Whiz Kid_  are the poster boy's you're dangling in front of the crowds this year? Huh? No wonder enlistments are getting low-I'm kidding mum" Layla smirked at her frowning mother before adding quickly "but seriously are they at least cute to look at"

"Is that even important" Christopher gave his daughter a stern glance and she shrugged, a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"Maybe"

"Layla-"

"Just kidding! Jeeze can nobody take a joke anymore!" she sighed heavily as did Christopher as he reached out to ruffle her long dark hair.

"Yes just not about boys. Not until you're in college!"

"Well if I apply to Starfleet I'll be technically in college" Layla grunted trying to swat her father's hands off as he chuckled.

"Alright then no boys till you're eighteen"

"Chris" Helene giggled prying her husband's hands off their daughter before pulling her into a hug.

"It doesn't matter if there are cute boys or not sweetie. Whatever decision you make on this, whether you choose to join or not, we'll be proud"

"Say how about this." Christopher smiled as he made to sit down on Layla's other side on the couch. "Next week I've got to babysit some Cadet's on shore leave in Iowa. If you come with me you'll get to talk to some of the cadets and you can ask them anything you want about the Academy. And if you do decide to enlist you can join us on the way back to the Academy just in time for the mid-year Application test. Deal"

Layla looked thoughtful for a minute before nodding slowly.

"Deal"

"Good and on that note, I know I said the Starfleet cadets are a little more mature but still there are some idiot knuckleheads that think they're smarter and tougher than everyone just because they wear a uniform, but whatever happens do not, I repeat, do not pick a fight with any of them."

"but what if they're  _really_  irritating me? Or what if they start the fight? Can I at least end it then?"

"No." Christopher smirked knowingly.

"So" Layla clucked her tongue rolling her eyes as she made to stand to her feet "I'll just sit quiet and be a good little daddy's girl on the school excursion"

"Hey just because your old man's going to be there doesn't mean you can't have fun" Christopher quirked a brow "I'll check the roster and see if I can spot a few old faces. There's bound to be plenty of people that you can hang with quietly. But no fighting are we clear?"

"Yeah-yeah! I know!" Layla waved her father off as she picked up her leather messenger bag and hoisted it on her shoulder "Well, I'm going to go take a bath and maybe take a sketch or two in my room"

"Alright but make sure you don't turn the music up too loud" Helene waggled her finger as she watched her daughter trudge out of the room and up towards the staircase "Your uncle Alex is coming over for dinner tonight so you be sure to be ready to greet him by the time he arrives"

"Sure! Whatever" Layla droned in a bored manner as she turned a corner and disappeared upwards with soft thuds of her boots on wood.

Once they heard the door to her room shut, Christopher sighed.

"Teenagers! I sure am glad I only have one of them in the house"

"Oh tush you're enjoying this more than you let on" Helene chuckled softly as she reached out to pat her husband's cheek affectionately, only for her face to fall quickly as a grim thought seemed to cross her mind.

"Honey" Christopher looked worriedly at his wife's suddenly terse face but she quickly shook her head.

"It's nothing sweetheart" she quickly smiled though it looked rather more like a grimace "It's just…so sudden I guess. Our little girl growing up faster than we could've hoped."

"It's not goodbye forever. You'll still get to see her on the weekends and in the holidays, or even around campus if you're doing one of your seminars" Christopher smiled softly before leaning forwards to kiss her forehead softly. "She'll be fine you'll see…as long as she's not traipsing after some stupid boy"

"*sigh* oh Chris…I hope you're right"

* * *

 

**Star-date 2255.216 – Iowa (23:49)**

The bar was full of people as a terran female strode through it, head held high, in spite of the fact that she was perhaps the shortest patron that stood at 5'3".

It didn't help her predicament that she was wearing a short sapphire blue dress with three quarter sleeves, amongst the sea of Starfleet cadets, all of whom were decked out in red-maroon uniforms and black boots.

Many heads turned quickly to watch as she made her way up to the bar, towards an empty seat beside a man in a black leather jacket.

He was a tall young man, with a handsome face, bright blue eyes and a crooked smile that was all framed by short but well groomed golden locks.

He couldn't help but raise his brow when he heard her order only one thing.

"A soda please"

"A soda?" he wondered aloud and was surprised when she turned around to face him.

She was young, younger than even he, probably in her teens. And yet in spite of that she was already remarkably attractive. What with her pale alabaster skin, and her long jet black hair held back in a loose mussed up ponytail that she draped over her left shoulder and those full little red lips, she could've easily passed off for a living incarnation of Snow White. But what caught the young man most was her eyes, which were a pale and crystal clear glacial blue, pretty and enticing but also surprisingly sharp and piercing as she made to ask.

"Pardon?"

"uh…um…" the man quickly coughed. "Noting it's just; you do know that you can order alcohol here right?"

"Yeah. I know" The girl gave him a quirked brow. "I just don't feel like it"

"Oh…ok…but then why are you here?" the young man looked about quietly at all the cadets about them.

Was she one of them? It didn't look like it. But she also didn't look old enough to actually be drinking either?

_Runaway or secretly squandering daddy's hard earned cash?_

He reasoned in his head before quickly zoning in to listen to her answer which was more of a small snort than anything else.

"I'm here because I'm trying to catch a break from my  _babysitters_ , and I'm guessing you're here to pick up chicks because the cadets are here fresh on shore leave"

"Guilty as charged" the young man gave a lopsided grin to which she responded with a small smirk. "So who are these stupid babysitters that are letting you slip away from them?"

"Oh just some butthead cadet guys who think they can keep me safe by flexing their oversized guns. The apes" she added in a mutter "you don't need muscles to win a fight. Just correctly time a hit to the head or the groin and they all come crashing down harder than bricks"

"So you're a cadet?" the young man smiled though internally he was slightly disturbed by the smaller girl's surprising forthrightness and brusqueness.

"Nope!" the girl popped the P as she quietly took her soda that the bartender had just quietly given her, before turning back to the man beside her. "Not yet. How about you mister…?"

"Jim" the young man, Jim nodded before extending his hand forwards. "Jim Kirk. And you are?"

"Layla Pike" the girl, Layla, took his hand and shook it firmly, so firmly that Jim almost winced.

"Sorry" Layla mumbled apologetically as she let go of his hand but Kirk only gave her a small grin.

"Nah it's ok! I've probably been dealt much harder greetings than that."

"Don't let the ladies hear you say that or else you'll be out of the running tonight" Layla smirked in Jim's face and he chuckled loudly.

"Ouch! With a wit like that kid I think those babysitters of yours need to hide behind you and not the other way around"

"Yeah tell my dad that" Layla snorted as she took a swig of her soda before quickly looking up just as a voice called out to her.

"Hey Layla there you are"

"Oh hey…" Layla smiled though it was rather guilty as a female cadet strode confidently up to the bar.

She was tall and in her early twenties, with luscious chocolaty brown skin and long black hair and pretty brown eyes that were currently fixed on the young girl before her in a small scowl.

"Didn't your dad tell you to wait at his table?"

"Yeah but I got bored. And there is so many times I can listen to him reminding me not to touch a drop of liquor, or be careful what I do, or that I'm not to go talking to guys" Layla shrugged up at the older woman, though her eyes glinted slightly nervously as if expecting a reprimand.

However the cadet only smirked with understanding as she made to lean over the bar top counter.

"Yeah I know. I'd be pretty bored too if I was cooped up in a corner of a bar nearly every night. Say why don't you join my table once I get the drinks? I daresay you could use some girl time"

"oh hell yes that would be great" Layla sighed with relief before she just realised that she still had Jim sitting right behind.

She quickly turned back to apologise to him, only to see that his eyes were fixed solely on the cadet beside her.

_Oh god you wanna try your luck with her?…see you at the pearly gates!_

She smirked as she turned back to the cadet who made to ask the bartender for her table's drinks.

"Hi, I'd like a Klabinan Fire Tea, Two Cardassian Sunrises, and uh"

"Try the slusho mix, it looks good" Layla suggested quickly pointing to the flashing menu above the back of the bar.

"Oh yeah you're right it does" the cadet smiled at her widely just as Jim's voice wafted over Layla's head.

"That's a lot of drinks for two women."

Layla and the cadet both exchanged amused glances with one another. It hadn't been the first time both of them had gotten that sort of line when seen together.

"And a shot of jack straight up"

"Make it two, her shot's on me"

"Her shot's on her. thanks but no thanks" the Cadet rolled her eyes.

_Ouch that's gotta hurt, better luck next time blondie_

Layla's smirk widened as Jim made to childishly pout.

"don't you at least want to know my name before you completely reject me?"

"I'm fine without it" the Cadet quirked a brow.

"you are very fine without it. both of you" he added, and Layla noticed for the first time a small slur in his speech. "It's Jim, Jim Kirk"

_And he's drunk, no wonder he's so forward_

She and the cadet now both exchanged exasperated looks as they both came to the same realisation at once.

"If you don't tell me your names, I'm gonna have to make them up"

"I already gave you mine." Layla rolled her eyes.

"Well then refresh my memory"

"Nope sorry, you get only one shot, Jimmy boy"

But even as she caught his eye she saw him give a pointed glance towards the cadet beside her, before giving her a small conspiratorial wink.

Layla gave a small sigh but smirked with amusement before murmuring very softly so that only he could hear.

"She's a tough one, don't say I didn't warn you"

"Thanks" Jim's grin changed subtly to a more grateful smile as Layla made to speak to the cadet loudly. "Say Uhura do you know where the bathrooms are? Never mind I see them"

The female cadet that sat beside her looked up just in time as Jim called out loudly.

"Uhura? No way that was the name I was going to make up for you? Uhura what?"

"Just…Uhura" Uhura quickly glanced about worriedly to look for Layla but the girl had already disappeared in the direction of the bathrooms that were located close to where the bar ended on the other side of the room.

"They don't have last names on your world?"

She turned back to Jim with a well-practiced collected expression on her face as she coolly replied "Uhura is my last name"

"They don't have first names on your world?"

Jim couldn't help but crack a small grin. Jeeze that Layla girl was right, she was a challenge.

But Jim Kirk always did like a challenge.

He straightened up as he took his new drink from the bartender and casually made to ask.

"So you're a cadet you're studying what's your focus?"

"Xenolinguistics" Uhura smirked smugly "You have no idea what that means"

"Study of Alien Languages. Morphology, phonology, syntax" Jim's lips quirked back up into its customary smirk as he added quietly "It means you've got a talented tongue"

"I'm impressed" Uhura admitted, though she dared not show too much of her surprise on her face instead choosing to quickly add "For a moment there I thought you were just a dumb hick that only had sex with farm animals"

"Well…not only" Jim's flirtatious grin widened just as a dark shadow came looming up behind him.

He turned quickly to see a tall butch male cadet standing flanked by three equally brusque buddies all of whom were flexing out their hands and arms threateningly.

_So these must be the babysitters_

Jim Kirk couldn't help but grin at the fact that such seemingly thuggish men managed to let one little girl slip from between their pudgy fingers.

Either they were really dumb or the girl was really smart.

Jim couldn't help but feel it was a mixture of both as their leader made to speak to Uhura, though he kept his beady eyes on him instead.

"This townie isn't bothering you, right?"

"Oh beyond belief" Uhura grinned, though it was only with residual amusement from Jim's earlier joke. "But it's nothing I can't handle"

"You could handle me, if that's an invitation" Jim waggled his brow playfully only for the butch cadet beside them to clip.

"Hey you better mind your manners-"

"Oh relax cupcake it was just a joke" Jim patted the man jovially on his big arms, though internally he could feel the atmosphere instantly tense up even as the man made to grab hard at his shoulder and pull him right up till they were nose to nose.

"Hey, farm boy. Maybe you can't count, but there are four of us and one of you"

"Then get some more guys and then it'll be an even fight" Jim patted the aggressor's cheek only to feel the heavy thud as a big fist collided with his own face.

"Guys' stop it" Uhura barked loudly but to no avail, for Kirk himself flung out his own fist into the guy's face only to be hit in return by three other fists.

"Stop it!" she tried again.

_Thud-thud! Thud-Thud!_

Many people were crying out as punches and kicks flew about the bar, many of them squeaking pulling away their drinks as bodies of four men crashed about into their tables before getting up and ramming into one another again like angry mountain goats.

From behind one of these tables Layla quickly darted out into the open. She'd just come back from the bathroom (after discovering she actually really did need to use it after all), only to find there was a huge fight breaking out right in the middle of the floor.

She quickly darted over to Uhura who was leaning by the bar trying her best to keep out of the way of Jim and the four red suited cadets as two the latter made to grab their singular target and hit him repeatedly, over and over again.

"HEY!" Layla shouted when she saw blood fly from a punch to Jim's jaw.

"Layla no!" Uhura yelled reaching out but already the younger girl had thrown herself into the fray her leg flying upwards in a high kick that hit the punching cadet right under the chin, sending his head flying back, before she turned and aimed a punch to the head of the cadet holding Jim

Jim barely had time to appreciate the rescue before he saw the first cadet that he had punch (whom he had nicknamed Cupcake in his head) make to grab at Layla in his almost berserk state.

"Look out" he cried before flinging himself in front of her.

Layla winced as Cupcake caught Jim quickly by the scruff of his neck and swung him over his shoulder to come crashing on his back right on top of a table.

"STOP!" she cried quickly rushing forwards as a set of large fists made to punch the daylights out of an already dazed victim. "STOP IT NOW YOU IDIOTS! HE'S HAD ENOUGH!"

But Cupcake did not listen to her; he only continued to punch Jim over and over again, pounding him harder than a hammer to a nail.

She tried to rush forwards to grab the offending hand only for one of Cupcake's mates to grab her from behind tightly, pulling her arms back behind her body in a lock.

And it was then Layla felt her temper snap.

She didn't care what she'd promised her father. These guys were going to kill Jim if they kept going on like this, and if abandoning her restraint could save someone from dying she'd gladly give it up any day.

Without even pausing to think she stomped her heel hard on her captor's foot and when he let go of her she wheeled about and kneed him straight in the privates. And then without further ado she jumped upon Cupcake from behind and scrambled up till her head was level with his shoulder.

Uhura squeaked as she heard a shriek and a small crunching sound suddenly pierce through all the shouts of the bystanders.

Cupcake stumbled backwards yelping horribly and scrambling to reach behind him, but Layla just kept holding on as tight as a baby Koala, her teeth never relenting on his ear.

That was until he rammed himself back into the bar.

With a grunt, Layla was forced to let go as her lower back was hit hard.

It hurt a lot and she cried out as her legs buckled beneath her from the pain. However, before she could slide to the ground she felt a hand grab hard at her hair and looked up to see a bloodied fist raised above Cupcake's shoulder rearing to strike.

However, before he could even make a move there was a loud shrill whistle.

Everyone stopped in their tracks and turned around slowly, even Jim was managing to lift his head gingerly as he stirred from his spot to look upside down at the figure of a man standing at the door to the room.

_Oh crap…I'm royally screwed_

Layla gulped as Christopher Pike's eyes examined the scene in front of him. There was absolute silence as his face turned the colour of parchment as he caught sight of his daughter's predicament.

"Cadet" he growled, suddenly sounding scarily like an angry dog gearing up to bite "let go of my daughter if you know what's good for you"

Cupcake gulped as his fury quickly gave way to immense fear. Layla sighed with relief as the hand that was on her scalp suddenly let go and stumbled backwards into the bar.

Uhura caught her quickly her eyes wide with worry as she saw that there was a bruise on the younger girl's wrist from where she'd been manhandled.

"I'm ok" Layla mumbled as her father made to stride across the room towards her.

His face was the stoniest she had ever seen it and she quickly turned her own to the ground as he made to bark loudly at the rest of the cadets.

"Outside all of you. NOW!"

There were small mumbles and squeaks of "yes sir" and "lets outta here" as quickly both cadets and other patrons made to quickly file out of the room.

The last four to leave were the four male cadets that had instigated the fight in the first place, for they themselves were sporting several injuries, courtesy of Jim and Layla, the latter of whom was being helped into a nearby barstool by a fussing and very much shaken up Uhura.

Christopher turned back to Jim's limp body as the younger man made to peer up at him upside down from where he was still lying on the table.

"You alright son?"

But Jim only grinned in a daze of blood and bruises

"You can whistle really loud you know that?"

Christopher frowned and tilted his head curiously.

For some reason, the boy's face and voice looked and sounded very familiar to him.

"Come on get up" he strode to the younger man and gave him a hand, which was taken shakily. With a big tug, he managed to pull Jim up to sit, only for blood to pour in streams down his nose.

"Thanks" Jim grunted as he was handed nearly ten thick paper napkins at once.

"Stay here" Christopher ordered gruffly, though a good deal more gently than he had first done with the cadets earlier. He turned his gaze quickly back on Layla and Uhura who were sitting back at the now empty bar, the latter making to help the former wrap a cooling pack onto her wrists.

Jim caught sight of the worried almost fuming look in his saviour's eyes and quickly reached out to grab his sleeve.

"It wasn't her fault" he mumbled his voice sounding thicker through the two napkins he had shoved up his nose

"I know" Christopher nodded though the anxiousness still hadn't left his face "but I've still got to check"

Jim let go with a small nod, though he kept his eyes fixed on Christopher's back as he made to walk over to his daughter who avoided his eye as he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

After a few moments of soft murmurs and a couple of heavy sighs from the Layla, Jim was relieved to see her father only give her a small pat on the head before instructing Uhura to take her to a nearby clinic to check for injuries.

As both girls made to pass, Layla gave a weak smirk at Jim's bloodied and bruised face.

"Nice to meet you, Jim. I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, maybe." Jim grinned back before yelling out to Uhura "And maybe you could tell me your first name"

"Pff! As if" the female cadet snorted with a roll of her eyes as she led the girl outside.

However, when they were both at the door to the Layla made to look back swiftly over her shoulder to where her father and Jim were now both sitting at an empty untouched table.

"What's up Layla?"

"Nothing…" Layla lied though the gears were turning in her head.

_Jim Kirk…Kirk…why does that name sound so familiar?_

"James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk. You know I couldn't believe it when my daughter told me who you were" Christopher almost cringed as the younger man in front of him shrugged off his leather jacket to reveal a long sleeved light grey shirt splattered with small droplets of red over the front from where his nose had sprayed blood.

"And who am I, Captain Pike?" Jim grunted as he made to take a sip of a glass of water.

"Your father's son"

Jim stopped dead in his tracks, the now empty glass hovering in mid-air.

"Can I get another one" he called to the bartender who was closing up shop in a hurry.

He glowered and rolled his eyes but nonetheless took the glass and refilled it for Jim and handed it back to him just as Christopher made to speak once more.

"For my dissertation, I was assigned the U.S.S Kelvin. Something I admired about your dad, he didn't believe in no-win scenarios"

"Sure learned his lesson" Jim snorted as he gingerly made to take the napkins from his nose, which had only just stopped bleeding.

"Well, it depends on how you define winning" Christopher smirked patiently "You're here aren't you?"

Jim shrugged, but the older Captain could see in his eyes that he had made a valid point and he quickly pressed his advantage.

"You know that instinct to leap without looking, that was his nature too and in my opinion, it's something Starfleet's lost"

Jim just shook his head with a hollow chuckle.

"Why are you talking to me man?"

"Because I looked up your file, while you were chatting with my daughter." Christopher narrowed his eyes and Jim had the decency to look down with some semblance of embarrassment.

"Sir I swear I wasn't trying anything I-"

"I know" Christopher nodded though he still looked rather stern "but that's not what I'm concerned about at the moment. I checked both your aptitude results and they are off the charts. The only other person I've ever seen at such a level is Layla and she's barely fifteen. So what is it? Do you smart kids get a kick out of picking fights or being the only genius level repeat offenders in the mid-west?"

"Maybe I love it?" Jim smirked, though the rest of his body stiffened defensively and Christopher rolled his eyes.

"So your dad dies, you can settle for a less-than-ordinary life. Or do you feel like you were meant for something better?...something special…Enlist in Starfleet"

"Enlist?" Jim snorted derisively "you guys must be way down on your recruiting quota for the month"

Christopher's eyes narrowed as similar words spoken to him barely two weeks ago wafted over his mind.

_"No wonder enlistments are getting low"_

_Uncanny…_

Christopher's eyes hardened with steely determination as he made to press urgently.

"If you're half the man your father was Jim, Starfleet could use you. You could be an officer in four years, you can have your own ship in eight. You understand what the Federation is don't you? It's important, it's a peacekeeping and humanitarian armada-"

"Are we done?" Jim cut across him his smirk falling from his face to be replaced by an irritated scowl.

Christopher paused for a moment.

He couldn't help but wonder as Jim looked him in the eyes. It was almost as if he were looking at the embodiment of George Kirk right in front of them and yet that expression, that look of defensive derision…it was so similar to his own daughters.

_They're both misfits…brilliant in nearly every way but still on their own… just not fitting in anywhere…_

But it wasn't like he could just tell the younger man what to do, besides he was an adult and they were virtually strangers.

so it was with a heavy heart that Christopher nodded slowly as he made to stand to his feet.

"I'm done"

But before he could leave Jim quickly mumbled.

"That kid of yours…Layla… That guy might've totalled me if she hadn't jumped at him when she did so she kinda…saved my ass…could you tell her I said thanks"

"I could…" Christopher smirked as one last stroke of brilliance occurred to him "or you could tell her yourself. Riverside Shipyard. Shuttle for new recruits leaves tomorrow o' eight hundred. You know your father was the captain of a starship for only twelve minutes…but in that time he saved eight hundred lives, including your mother's and yours…I dare you to do better"

And with that he turned on his heel and left, leaving Jim alone with his thoughts.

_Captain?_

The young man mused.

_Me? A Captain?_

But then he shook his head and snorted. Yeah. Him a Starfleet Captain, it was so ridiculous… a stupid notion.

But even as the thought came to his mind he tilted a small salt shaker shaped like a starship in his hands and smirked.

_Captain James Tiberius Kirk…has a nice ring to it…_

* * *

 

When Christopher Pike returned back to the hotel room he was stationed in he found Layla already there, laying on her stomach on one of the two beds watching the news as she did her best to balance an ice pack on her bruised back.

She looked around wincing as she saw her father stride towards her his face set in a grim stern glower.

"What did I tell you about getting into fights?"

"They were going to kill him if they continued to hit him like that" Layla grunted with a scowl. "Somebody had to stop them before they went too far"

"And it had to be you?"

"Did you see anyone else bother to help him?" Layla growled. "Besides it wasn't really his fault"

"He provoked them" Christopher frowned.

"He was only yanking their chain and they fell for it" Layla frowned back her icy eyes turning if possible even colder "they should have ignored him and been better men but they lost control. What's it going to look like for Starfleet if their officers aren't able to keep their heads in n _ormal_  environment let alone a hostile one?"

"I guess you have a point there" Christopher nodded as he made to sit beside her on the bed, his hand reaching out to resettle the ice pack on her back. After a moment or two of silence he asked quietly

"Have you thought about our deal?"

"Yeah I did" Layla nodded quietly.

"And?" Christopher frowned.

Layla just grinned widely.

"I'm in"

* * *

 

**Star-date 2255.217 – Iowa (08:00)**

Layla sighed as she basked in the hot morning sun, leaning back against the wall of the small run down shuttle.

She was glad she'd traded her dress for her skinny jeans and tank top for it was sweltering.

"God I hope the weather's decent back home" she grunted only to jump slightly as someone coughed from her side.

She quickly wheeled about and saw to her surprise a man standing there beside her. He could've been handsome, she supposed, but it was all masked by the crotchety scowl over his face and his totally unkempt appearance. He had a scraggly beginning of a beard that would be brown like his hair and he faintly smelt of alcohol, but she could see from the look in his grey-blue eyes that he was definitely sober…for now…

She sniffed the air subtly as a whiff of something else wafted into her nostrils.

_Soap?_

She wondered, only managing to bring herself out of her thoughts as the man made to speak

"Excuse me kid is this the shuttle for Starfleet recruits?"

His voice was gruff, but strangely enough, it wasn't unpleasant though it did heavily drip with the iconic drawl so beloved by the American southern states.

"The one and only" Layla snorted tapping the side of the shuttle with a small smirk. "If you're in a hurry mister, you should get in quick. The seats are filling up fast"

"Don't mind if I do" the man tipped his head to her before making to pass her on and stride into the shuttle just as someone called out to her.

"Layla"

Layla turned just in time to see her father Christopher striding over to her, resettling his grey uniform collar uncomfortably in the heat.

"You ready to go?" she asked as soon as he was level with her.

"Are you?" he quirked a brow down at her and she shrugged.

"You know me, dad, always ready for a new adventure"

She smiled up at him pleased as his dark blue eyes made to twinkle down at her as he beamed with fondness.

"I've just sent a message to your mother. She says she'll call you when you've completed the test. She's really proud that you've decided to go through with this, as am I"

"Thanks, dad" Layla mumbled suddenly feeling her ears go pink with embarrassment just as something came rumbling up before them.

It was a motor bike, on which Jim Kirk was riding, his face now clean and his hair better groomed from the state it had been in last night.

He grinned as a shipyard construction worker made to pass him by, whistling with admiration at the vehicle the younger man was riding.

"Nice ride man"

"It's yours" Jim smirked as he tossed the man the keys before striding up to both Christopher and Layla, the former of whom he made to smirk at smugly.

"Four years? I'll do it in three. Hey, Layla" he gave her a small grin and a wave.

"Hey yourself. You look better." Layla grinned back as he made to stand before the shuttle door alongside her.

"Yeah thanks to you" he nodded "by the way that was some kick you gave that guy"

"Oh, I try" Layla smirked in mock modesty just as a group of male cadets passed them by to get into the shuttle.

Four of them were easily recognisable as the group that had accosted both her and Jim the night before. When they saw the tall blond male standing there, their leader (whom Jim still preferred to call Cupcake in his head), made to crack his knuckles threateningly.

Jim opened his mouth to say something scathing and sarcastic only for Layla to beat him to the punch, her tone cold as an arctic blizzard.

"Touch him again and I'll bite both your ears off"

Jim snorted as Cupcake flinched at the tones, his hand flying up to his left ear which was patched up with a bandage wrapped around his head.

As soon as he and his friends had skulked off Jim turned back to the younger girl with an admiring smirk and a quirked brow.

"That's it from now on I'm using you as my human shield"

"Idiot" Layla chuckled, shaking her head as she made to walk up the steps and onto the shuttle. "Come on let's get going before they take off without us"

"Yeah that would be disastrous"

They were quick in getting inside, walking carefully past each of the red-suited cadets that sat all around them, watching them curiously as Jim clocked his head on a beam on the ceiling.

"Not funny" he grunted as Layla made to giggle at his expense, sitting down at three empty seats just opposite Uhura who pointed quietly at Jim with a frown.

Layla just shrugged in response as Jim made to sit down beside her and grin at her friend.

"I never did get that last name" he called and Uhura snorted and rolled her eyes just as a female voice called out from the front of the craft.

"You need a doctor"

"I told you, people, I don't need a doctor, damn it, I AM a doctor!"

_Doctor…Well that explains the soap smell_

Layla quickly looked up to watch with amusement as the rugged southern man she'd met earlier was tugged away from the bathrooms at the back of the shuttle by a very irate female officer who was currently trying her best not to yell at him as they argued.

"You need to get back to your seat"

"I had one in the bathroom with no windows!"

"You need to get back to your seat now"

"I suffer from aviaphobia, it means a fear of dying in something that flies" the man growled angrily glaring down at the woman, but Layla saw that in his eyes that there was more fear than aggression.

but the female officer was not swayed one bit as she made to bark harshly over him.

"Sir for your own safety sit down or else I'll make you sit down!"

Layla had to hand it to the lady, she really had quite a terrifying glower. Even Jim bristled beside her as the southern man made to mumble darkly under his breath only for the woman to raise a stern brow at him.

"Alright fine!" the man growled in aggravation before stomping off to sit on Layla's other side and shrug on his seat buckles, just as her father's voice wafted over their heads from the speakers.

"This is Captain Pike. We've been cleared for take off"

the man glowered up at the ceiling with venom before turning to both Layla and Jim and muttering:

"I may throw up on you"

"…Ok…" Layla's brow furrowed as she exchanged a glance with Jim who just shrugged before addressing the man calmly.

"I think these things are pretty safe"

but the man only rolled his eyes.

"Oh don't pander to me kid. One tiny crack in the hull and our blood boils in thirteen seconds. A solar flare might crop up and cook us in our seats. And wait till you're sitting pretty with a case of Andorian shingles. See if you're still relaxed when your eyeballs are bleeding. Space is disease and danger wrapped in darkness and silence."

"Uh man I hate to break this to you but Starfleet is an organisation that operates in  _space_. That's why it's called  _Star_ -Fleet" Layla snorted with raised eyebrows.

"Yeah, well kid, as you can see I got nowhere else to go. The ex-wife took the whole goddamn planet in the divorce. All I've got left is my bones"

And with that, the man took a small silver hip flask from his jacket pocket and took a heavy swig before handing it over and across to Jim who took it before taking a small swig.

"What is it with guys and alcohol?" Layla groaned aloud to herself as she shook her head and rolled her eyes.

"Is she always so cheerful?" the gruff man snorted with a small smirk and Jim chuckled.

"This is nothing. You should see her when she's really pissed. The name's Jim Kirk and the grumpy teenage midget between the two of us is my new personal human shield"

"Hey watch it blondie! I'm not a midget I'm just petite!" Layla snapped before turning to face a rather curious neighbour and holding out her hand "the name's Layla Pike"

"McCoy, Leonard McCoy" the gruff man, Leonard, nodded and shook her hand just before the entire shuttle jerked a little as it began to be released from the clamping dock that held it steady to the ground.

"Oh god here we go" Leonard groaned clamping his mouth shut as he made to shut his eyes, his cheeks turning pale almost instantly.

Layla looked glanced sidelong at Jim who grinned back at her.

"You ready?"

"Are you?" Layla smirked quirking a brow.

"Born ready" Jim grinned and she nodded in return.

"Yeah…let's ride"

 


	3. Not in Blood but in Bond

**Star-date 2258.141**

"The moron! So what happened then?"

"What happened was that I told the stupid idiot where he could stick that hypospray instea-"

"Hey Tiger! Bones!"

Layla Pike did not grow much during the past three years in height. At seventeen going on eighteen she only now stood at 5'4". However she'd lost most of her puppy fat and finally grown proper curves appropriately sized for her petite but toned build. Her hair was still long but cut in slightly choppier layers bangs was currently tied in a small messy side ponytail that couldn't quite pull back the tiny short raven wisps from her forehead.

She quickly made to brush them away from her icy eyes she and Doctor Leonard McCoy turned back to see the tall familiar figure of James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk run towards them from the lobby doors behind the steps they were standing on.

"So how was your Anatomy lecture?"

"We just handed in our assignments." Leonard scowled still grumpy from the earlier conversation. He hadn't changed much either aside from the lack of the smell of alcohol on his person.

"And that's bad how?" Jim frowned at Layla who sighed.

"It's not Jimmy. Leo just has had a little trouble with some stupid first years at the infirmary this morning"

"Ouch Bones! Talk about a bad wake-up call"

"Tell me about it" Leonard rolled his eyes. No matter how many times he'd tried to stop them, both Jim and Layla had caught on and stuck to the stupid nicknames. He had long ago given up hope of ever stopping them.

He could not help but sigh as he looked the younger man up and down.

"So what's up with you? Why are you so happy?"

"I don't know what you're talking about?" but even as he said this Jim's grin only widened.

"Of course you don't" Layla quirked a brow sceptically as she eyed her friend's crooked smile and the bright twinkle in his blue eyes. To most others this would've been seen as a very happy expression. But after three years of solid friendship, Layla knew that if Jim was wearing that expression, trouble and mischief was definitely brewing.

"Hello ladies" the young man whistled low under his breath as two rather attractive female cadet's passed, their hips swishing oh so naturally as they passed him.

Layla rolled her eyes fondly as the women passed out of sight only to pinch her nose as a couple of passing male cadets made to wolf whistle and cat call in her direction.

"Whoo! Check out the ass on that one!"

At once Jim's head snapped around towards the speaker, his eyes flashing fiercely at them as Leonard growled gruffly.

"Hey clear off if you know what's good for you!"

"Agh! Do guys ever grow up?" Layla groaned, gripping the hem of her short red skirt and trying her best to tug it lower down to cover herself better.

"Not until they're over thirty sweetheart" Leonard snorted as Jim hardened his glare on the men who immediately shrunk back and skulked off quietly.

As soon as they were gone Jim turned back to his friends, his mischievous smile returning.

"I'm going to take the test again"

"What test?" Layla frowned.

"The Kobayashi Maru" Jim shrugged and Leonard groaned.

"You gotta be kidding me"

"Yeah, tomorrow morning I want you both there"

"Argh! Jim" Layla sighed heavily pinching the bridge of her nose as Leonard made to prattle on in exasperation.

"You know, we've both got better things to do than watch you embarrass yourself for a third time. Besides I'm a doctor I'm busy-"

"But Bones, doesn't it bother you that no one's ever passed the test?"

"Jim It's the Kobayashi Maru" Layla scowled "No one is meant to pass that test at all! That's what a training-for-failure simulation is all about!"

"Yeah and no one goes back for seconds let alone thirds" Leonard added but Jim's grin only widened as he patted the doctor on the shoulder.

"I gotta study"

And without so much as a second glance back at either of his friends, Jim Kirk strode across the courtyard and out into the open sunlight.

"Study my ass" Leonard muttered under his breath as he watched the familiar head of blonde hair disappear behind a group of people.

"I don't know about you Leo but I don't have a good feeling about this" Layla grunted only to look down at the PADD in her hand as a message pinged into existence.

"What's up?" Leonard looked down at the girl as she scowled at the screen.

"Nothing" she clipped icily "My Dad's calling me into the office for a bit"

"Anything wrong?" Leonard's brow furrowed but Layla just shrugged.

"Who knows? But I gotta go. See you at dinner" she lightly punched the doctor on the shoulder before quickly dashing off into the crowd.

Leonard winced at the hit and rubbed his arm hard to soothe it. No matter how small she was Layla always seemed to be far stronger than even most of the burliest male cadets. The gruff doctor often wondered if she was part Vulcan or any other stronger humanoid species, but so far every single test he'd performed she appeared to be completely human.

_How could she be so human and yet be so strong unless…_

Leonard McCoy's brow furrowed as he made to look back down at his arm experimentally rubbing at it again. But then he quickly shook his head.

_Nah…that's just crazy! Agh! god I need to have a sit down!_

* * *

Christopher Pike had watched many Cadets graduate Starfleet Academy over the years, both as a student and a mentor.

He had seen the best and brightest shine all the way to glory. He had seen the greatest pricks fall at the drop of a hat under the tough circumstances. He had seen young minds flourish and produce astounding breakthroughs that would forever change the history of the universe they all lived in.

But nothing could've prepared him to watch his own fifteen year old daughter thrive through a sea of young adults as smoothly as a knife through soft butter.

The concerned Captain and father leant back in his chair he poured over a PADD in his hand as he sat behind his office desk, flicking through the young teenagers results from the most recent of assignments. All her lecturers and commanding officers had written stellar reports, particularly her combat instructors.

Only one professor actually had any negative thing to say and that was Commander Holly Novella.

Christopher's brow furrowed as he read made to open up the personal message delivered to him from the lecturer herself just last night.

_Dear Captain Pike,_

_I am messaging you to inform you of my concerns regarding your daughter's latest assignment in Advanced Military History._

_Before I say anything else sir may I make it quite clear that young Miss Pike is a very diligent hard worker and produces good results and I wouldn't be sending you this message if I wasn't so disturbed by what she has just submitted._

_As you know the students of this class are expected to produce a full 80,000 word thesis on a past military movement or war of their choosing with a chapter solely dedicated on an important personality of that time period._

_Your daughter being the more ambitious of my students decided to tackle the topic of the twentieth century Eugenics Wars, and has chosen for her historical figure head, the infamous Khan Noonien Singh._

_Ordinarily I wouldn't be objected to cadets voicing their own opinions on controversial topics. However it is of concern to me and the faculty when we read such a radically unusual perspective that seems to put Augments in the place of victims and humans in the place of the oppressors when we all know for a fact that it is the other way around._

_Whilst this thesis is well written and correctly submitted under all guidelines, I on account of moral principle cannot condone myself to grant this work a mark._

_I have tried to reason with Cadet Pike to perhaps tweak the assignment here and there but she refuses stubbornly to change her stance on the topic, for if she doesn't she won't get her marks and she won't be able to pass this course. So I politely ask of you now sir if you as her father, could perhaps try to make her understand her predicament and help her come up with a sensible solution._

_Yours sincerely Commander Holly Novella_

Christopher sighed heavily as the voice of the secretary outside the captain's offices made to call over the communications link into the room.

"Captain Pike, Cadet Pike is here to see you"

"Send her in" Christopher said but no sooner had the last word left his mouth the door to his office slid open and a familiar short young woman stepped through.

"Hey" She smiled at Christopher as he made to get up from his desk to hug her tight.

"Hello Layla. It's been a while"

Layla rolled her eyes fondly.

"Only two weeks Dad."

"Far too long in my opinion." Christopher smiled down at her before gesturing to the two chairs before his desk where they both sat down.

"So how are you?" Chrisopher asked when Layla settled herself down.

"Not bad" Layla smiled. "Just handed in an assignment today? What about you?"

"A bit older and a bit greyer" Christopher smirked though it quickly turned into a sigh. "I have received a message from one of your lecturers. Commander Holly Novella"

Layla stiffened at once in her seat.

"Oh…yeah her…"

Christopher nodded quietly. "Yes. She says your material for your thesis is highly controversial and morally un-markable"

At this Layla gave a very loud un-ladylike snort of derision.

"Typical hag. She just can't take the fact that in my last assessment I ended up beating her tactical simulation on the first go. Would've thrown a hissy fit if I hadn't produced the ample evidence to support my methods"

"So I take it you and Commander Novella do not get along?" Christopher's eyes narrowed and Layla rolled hers.

"Get along? Dad she can barely stand being in the same room as me, and let me tell you the feeling is mutual. She only gives me the marks because I produce the results AND because I'm  _your_  daughter."

Christopher had to frown at this.

"what does you being my daughter have anything to do with her giving you the marks your work deserves?"

Layla pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Dad, no offence but you've never had to deal with the bootlicking morons that want to get into your good books. Commander Novella is hoping to get into a chief tactical position under your leadership on board the new constitution class, a spot that I myself have applied for and might be getting."

"A chief tactical position" Christopher's eyebrows rose in astonishment "when did this happen?"

"Just a month ago." Layla shrugged "Admiral Barnett himself called me into his office to discuss the details. He says if my average stays at its current A+ average by the time I graduate he might consider sending me in on the command crew of USS Enterprise for the five year deep space missions"

"But that's…that's great news" Christopher spluttered his face splitting in a wide smile "why didn't you tell me sooner"

"I wanted to surprise you when mum came in for her seminar next week" Layla blushed with slight embarrassment before coughing quickly to compose herself. "But anyway, the point of this whole matter is that I know for a fact Commander Novella is using my thesis as an excuse to put a roadblock in my way so that she can get ahead?"

"And how do you know this claim is valid?" Christopher asked as he leaned back in his chair.

"Because I accidently overheard her when Kenina and I were passing by the senior officers lounge this morning on our way to first period." Layla rolled her eyes "I swear she and Commander Lloyd wouldn't know discretion even if it was slapping them in the face."

Christopher nodded slowly

"Well…I guess that settles it then. If you have another witness besides yourself you can complain about unfair treatment when it comes to your marks and I as your senior officer could get permission for you to have your assessment marked by another faculty member that is impartial in judgement. However" and Layla stiffened as her father's eyes turned stern "you are still walking on eggshells. The Eugenics wars are still a rather touchy subject matter even nowadays. To side with the Augments is a politically dangerous move and-"

"What? Side with the Augments?" Layla frowned in confusion "I never sided with either side of the battles in my thesis. I simply pointed out the flaws in the negotiations tactics of the Terran human diplomats of the times as well as highlighted some of the Augments better war strategies."

"And what of Khan?" Christopher leaned forwards his face still grim. "what are your thoughts on him?"

"Well…" Layla bit her lip thoughtfully "if you put aside the hostility of his race aside, Khan's actually a master of manipulation. When it came down to creating his empire he used his power and his charisma to win himself negotiations rather than overt shows of force. He turned himself into a cult figurehead for his people to worship, and oddly enough in spite of severely curtailing the freedoms of his subjects he managed to keep massacres and wars of aggression to a minimum during his reign. You see unlike his other Augment contemporaries he understood that love and belonging could bring people closer and make them more willing to co-operate for a united cause than if they were afraid of him…and from a tactical point of view you have to admit that is rather brilliant psychological strategy on his part. Dad…Khan and these Augments…They were all designed to be smarter than humans and when they were wiped out they left behind golden freaking nuggets of valuable information. We'd be fools not to use such data to help aid us against those who may wish to do us harm."

But even as she came to a final stop Layla saw to her dismay that her father was looking rather concernedly at her.

"You think I should re-write it don't you?"

Christopher paused for a moment before shaking his head.

"No I don't. I agree with what you say and I will grant you permission to re-submit your assessment to another lecturer of your choosing. However choose wisely, no matter what Agent Novella says this is still a very delicate topic and I would hate for you to miss out on a chance at a good career on board the Enterprise, just because of one thesis"

Layla smiled softly.

"Thanks Dad"

"Don't mention it" Christopher smiled before quickly looking up to the antique clock on his desk.

"It's getting close to dinner time." He muttered "have you eaten yet?"

"I will after I drop my stuff off at my dorm" Layla grunted as she stood up and stretched. "Boy I wonder what's on the menu tonight. I hope there's something chocolate for desert"

"You know the Senior officers and their families usually get good dibs on the food" Christopher smiled "You could join me if you wanted. Nobody would really mind it if you do"

"Thanks Dad. But I'll have take you up on that offer later. Jim's suddenly decided that he wants to retake the Kobayashi Maru again and I've gotta feeling he's up to something."

"Keep both of yourselves out of trouble then" Christopher smirked as he watched her leave the room with a small wave.

As soon as the door was shut behind her his face fell at once as a voice in his head hissed.

_Too close…she's getting far too close Chris_

* * *

"Oh Jim…I think I love you" a female voice groaned breathlessly as the man above her made to move his mouth sinuously over her neck.

"That is so weird" hut muttered as he paused and the woman frowned beneath him.

"Lights"

There was only one second before the lights in the room flickered back up to a hundred percent to reveal the figure of a ruffled Jim Kirk laying over a green skinned, red haired Orion girl, both of them in nothing but their underwear on a bed.

"Did you just say that's so weird?"

The orion girl was frowning confusedly up at Jim as she sat up and quickly sensing her shift in mood Jim crawled back.

"Yeah I did but-"

"You don't love me too?" she smiled flirtatiously leaning in for another kiss at his mouth just as two voices made to speak from outside the dorm room door. They were the voices of two very concerned very worried young women.

"Klingons? But that doesn't make any sense"

"I know, I'm still trying to figure it out myself-"

The Orion girl with Jim gulped as she heard the sliding door open behind the screen that, thankfully, shielded the room from the corridor. "Oh crap my roommate"

"but I thought you said she was gone for the night?" Jim frowned.

"Well obviously she's not, quick get under the bed" the Orion girl hissed slapping Jim's arm sharply and gesturing towards the side of her bed.

"Get under the bed" Jim rolled his eyes. This was such a terrible horrible cliché one that he had often laughed at when other cadets had been caught in the same predicament. Now he couldn't have been more mortified even as he was pushed down onto the floor the Orion girl still hissing at him softly.

"Quick just go down"

"oh come on -"

"Jim just-You can't let her see you"

"What why not?" Jim snapped and the Orion girl rolled her eyes.

"Because I promised her I'd stop bringing guys back to the room"

Jim's eyes bulged with slight alarm at this.

"Wait what how many guys have you-"

"Just get down! now!" she snapped forcing him to lie flat and roll underneath the shadows of under the bed before she quickly settled herself to lounge on her side on the mattress and peruse a PADD she'd quickly snatched up from the floor.

From his spot under the bed amidst a few boxes made his best to peer out as two sets of very human legs made their way before his vision. One pair was dark skinned and larger than the more petite, very disturbingly familiar pair that currently made to stop as its owner sat down on the edge of the other bed.

"I'm home" the sarcastic voice of Nyota Uhura wafted into Jim's ears and he stiffened uncomfortably, but nothing could've prepared him for the dread that came with the next speaker's voice.

"Hey there Gaila you finished for the day?"

_Shit I am royally screwed._

Jim shut his eyes as Gaila made to reply to Layla Pike's question with an overly enthusiastic nod of the head.

"Uhuh! Got let off early. So how about you two what's up?"

"Oh nothing much." Layla shrugged "Uhura was the one having all the fun today"

"Yeah well not so much fun as it was weird" Uhura shrugged as she began to take off her boots "I was in the long-range sensor lab"

"I thought all night" Gaila suddenly blurted out and Layla frowned a little in confusion, though Uhura didn't notice anything as she continued to prattle on about her day.

"I was tracking solar systems and I picked up an emergency transmission."

"Really?" Now Gaila really was keen on listening as she tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah from a Klingon prison planet" Uhura nodded much to her roommates confusion as the latter made to look at Layla.

"Is she serious?"

Layla nodded her face grave.

"She just replayed me the computer's translation. There really was a Klingon armada destroyed, forty seven ships in total"

"Wow…that's'…wow" Gaila whistled low under her breath and Layal nodded.

"I know tell me about it."

"So…do you know what caused this?" Gaila frowned but Uhura just shook her head.

"No but I'll need more time to decipher the-"

But Gaila quickly cut across her. "So you're not going back to the lab tonight?"

And there in that moment something like a soft inhale reached Layla's ears.

She rolled her eyes and raised her brow at the Orion girl pointedly.

"Gaila who is he?"

"huh?" Gaila blinked trying her best to look innocent only Layla was quick to notice her twitch in her fingers as Uhura spun around quickly in confusion.

"Who's who?"

"The mouth breather hiding under her bed" Layla shrugged.

"You can hear me breathing?"

Uhura's eyes widened with sudden fury mixed with horror as Jim Kirk suddenly seemed to pop out from behind Gaila's bed clad only in his white briefs.

"YOU?!"

As the three women stared at him his eyes were quick to wander over Uhura's body which like Gaila's was only clad in underwear. The only one fully dressed was Layla and she was currently rolling her eyes and sighing with heavy exasperation.

"Jim seriously-"

"What? I was just looking for some winding down. We've got a big day tomorrow remember"

"Jim how many times do I have to tell you that you cannot pass that test! No one can!" Layla pinched the bridge of her nose as Jim blatently ignored her in the desperate scramble to get his clothes from the floor, winking at Gaila as he did so.

"Gaila, see you around"

"Get out!" Uhura growled her hands flying over her exposed body as Jim turned his attention to her.

"Hey if I pass will you tell me your first name?"

"No" Uhura glared reaching down to grab his discarded pants from the floor and flinging them into his grinning face.

"You know I think the fact that you picked up a transmission is very interesting-OW! OWOWOWOWOWWOW! LAYLA!" He cried out loudly as Layla growled under her breath.

"Just shut up"

She then turned towards Uhura and gave what she hoped was an apologetic grimace on her otherwise furious face.

"Sorry about this I'll deal with him"

"Please do" Uhura nodded with a glare as she watched Jim being dragged out by the ear into the corridor.

"Layla-ow-would you please-" Jim spluttered in pain as he was tugged painfully just into the room across the hall, which was empty.

Once the door was shut Layla tossed him forwards and he and his pile of clothes landed on the bed.

"Ow" Jim groaned clutching at his ear as he sat up to glare at the smaller girl before him "What the hell was that for?"

But Layla did not answer. She had turned her back on him to hunch over.

Jim frowned as he saw her entire body was shaking as she made to speak…or rather giggle?

"Goddamnit Jim you are absolutely unbelievable" she snorted turning back to him and his eyes widened as he saw that she was grinning from ear to ear. "Hiding under the bed. Are you auditioning for a twentieth century Romantic Comedy?"

"Hey it wasn't my fault Gaila forced me down there" Jim cried out before suddenly blinking "And what would you know about twentieth century romantic comedies? I thought you hated those"

Jim quirked a brow and Layla rolled her eyes as she made to walk behind large folding screen set by the side of her bed.

"I do. My mother on the other hand loves them, for reasons I can not yet fathom"

"Maybe because you've never been in love before" Jim snorted as he saw the skirt and top of her red cadet uniform be draped over the top of the screen, before their owner popped her head over the top to glower at him.

"Have you?"

Jim paused for a moment, swallowed and then said.

"…no I haven't… but that doesn't mean I want a relationship. I'm pretty happy with my current situation"

"No you're not" Layla sighed and Jim could see her silhouette through the screen as she leaned against the wall behind her. "Jim, I may be younger than you by a fair bit but I know exactly what you're doing. You're different to everyone else, separate, and as a result you feel alone, even when you're in a crowd. So you do things that you feel will make people take notice…or accept you. Like your stunts you pull with the female cadets."

"And you figure this out how?"

"Because I used to do the same thing too…"

Jim looked up as Layla stepped out from the screen, dressed in a full set of gym gear all matching with black material and light blue stripes over the contours of her sides.

Her face was grim as she made to brush out her raven hair over her shoulders trying to tie it in a plait.

"and let me tell you it wasn't pleasant" Layla tried to sound casual, but Jim could hear the hollow derision seep straight through her voice like wine through white cotton.

"Your fighting…back in school." he murmured and she nodded.

"It was the only physical contact I could get from other people. Literally. No one wanted to touch me otherwise. Like I was infected by some sort of bacteria."

"What? Why?" Jim frowned concernedly.

"Because…" Layla said simply and without further ado she picked up a small metallic silver replica of the Golden Gate bridge she usually kept on her bedside table and squeezed it tight.

The sound of a loud metallic crunch rent the air about them and merely a few seconds later Layla held out her hand. In it was now only a clump of worthless shapeless metal.

"Layla…"

Jim gaped at her. He knew that Layla was strong, he had been taken down by her in combat classes, but to take something made out of solid metal and  _destroy_  it by just clenching her hand…

He quickly came too just in time to see his friend's face fall despondently at his reaction.

"There…now you know" Layla said tensely as her eyes dropped to the carpeted floor.

"L-Layla" Jim spluttered like a fish "Layla…how on earth did you…"

"I  _don't_  know" Layla snapped before quickly composing herself with a deep calming breath before muttering softly. "but over the years I've gotten stronger, and thanks to training with Starfleet I've been able to learn how to control it better…but there are times when I feel stressed or frustrated it just…I never wanted to show anyone this but I'm afraid if I didn't then I'd be living a lie to everyone and-"

"Hey, it's ok. Layla it's fine. In fact"" Jim quickly reached out to grab both of her shoulders "it's  _all_ fine"

His heart could've almost broken in two as the young girl's face before him split into a wide smile, her icy eyes bright watery wells of gratitude, relief and joy as she breathed.

"Really?"

"Uh yeah I wouldn't be saying it otherwise. Maybe yes you are different to a lot of other people…but it's a good different…not a bad different. Now come here" Jim grinned holding his arms out before swooping out to grab her in a playful headlock.

"Agh! Jim!" Layla whined as she felt the young man's knuckles rub over the top of her head completely ruffling her hair from its tie.

Jim just laughed louder as she managed to tug herself out of his grip, pouting grumpily up at him. He couldn't help it. It was such a funny look, more than ten times better than when she was sad.

* * *

Dinner was a cheerful affair down in the mess hall. Not many cadets were in tonight seeing as it had been an assignment day for many of them, so Layla, Jim and Leonard got first pick of the good stuff on the menu.

To Layla's great happiness there was a chocolate soufflé which she promptly dug into happily whilst Leonard decided to treat them all to a small drink. During his first semester as a cadet he'd successfully (and very strictly) weaned his own way off of his reliance on alcohol and now after two years he was starting to allow himself to indulge himself every so often.

So when Layla told both him and Jim about Admiral Barnet's proposition to her he did not hesitate to get the necessary requirements to make a small toast.

"I know it's not much. But regulations state that we can only consume so much alcohol on campus so it will have to do" the older man gruffly grumbled as he filled his and Jim's glasses with a small serving of scotch whilst Layla poured the last of her bottle of soda into hers.

"So what are we toasting again?" Jim playfully asked only to get glowered at by the irate doctor next to him.

"Your stupid blonde head, that's what"

"Boys" Layla raised her eyebrows though she looked very much on the verge of cracking up.

"Alright then" Leonard coughed and straightened up a little in his seat before speaking clearly "Layla. When we first met I will not deny I wasn't exactly sure that you would actually make it in this shindig. Maybe it's because I was looking through the eyes of a concerned adult with paternal experience, or maybe I was just another stupid idiot like everyone else. But either way I think it's fair to say that you've surprised me with how far you've come so far...and I don't care what nobody else says or does otherwise but I'm proud. So hears to you Layla, congratulations on getting promoted"

" _Possibly_  promoted" Layla corrected him with a small smile "and let me just add that you also have done well, for a  _Paranoid-guy with an accent who's afraid of flying_ "

Leonard smirked fondly trying his best not to look too smug as Jim cried out in mock hurt.

"Hey what about me? Haven't I changed for the better?"

"yes you have" Layla snorted before adding with a small smile "but you are also still an incorrigible idiot that gets himself into trouble nearly every day"

Jim had to chuckle at that and raised his glass high in the air

"Hears to us."

"To us" Layla smiled clinking her glass with his before raising her eyebrows at Leonard who rolled his eyes and joined her with mock reluctance.

"To us. And may god have mercy on us all in that ruddy test tomorrow"

"Amen to that"


	4. First Rollcall

**Star-date 2255.243**

_Why did I sign up for this?_

Layla internally groaned as she made her way one spot up in the queue. She had been waiting there for over an hour now as what seemed like an entire platoon of people stood in front of the Starfleet Academy Administration Desk, waiting to be handed out their Dormitory details and timetables.

Layla was the easiest by far to recognise of everyone currently in the line, and that was including some very distinctive non-terran sentient species. Why was she so recognisable? Because she was the only fifteen year old new cadet that only stood at a short 5'3".

"Whoa look at that!"

"Seriously a kid? What is Starfleet thinking?"

"Must be one of those little smartass brats"

_Don't hear, don't see, don't smell, don't feel. Only breathe. Only breathe. Your bones are made of steel._

She clenched her fists around the handle of her large suitcase, wincing as the minute noises of material shifting, fingers tapping, distant voices and even breaths from people about ten meters away from her hit her ears like drums in a silent room.

_Don't hear, don't see, don't smell, don't feel. Only breathe, only breathe, none of it is real_

But by god it was so real it wasn't funny.

She gulped, doing her best to drown out all sound only to find that it amplified tenfold just like it always did whenever her nerves got the best of her.

As she took a deep shuddering breath someone spoke up in front of her.

"Excuse me"

Layla blinked and saw that she had reached the front of the queue and the desk at last. Behind it a female Starfleet officer was sitting smiling up at her consolingly as she timidly approached.

"Nervous hon?" she asked the younger girl sympathetically and Layla nodded her eyes nervously darting about her as she made to mumble softly.

"A little yeah. Um it's Pike, Layla S. Pike"

_Please don't recognise it! please oh please don't-_

"Ok, Pike. Wait! You mean Pike as in Captain Christopher Pike?"

_Dammnit!_

_"…_ Yes…"

Layla barely held back the urge to face palm as every single pair of eyes swivelled at once to look at her. She was distinctly aware of the derisive glares from three particularly tall, smug looking young men just four places behind her. As she caught their gazes their leader at the head, a lean wiry guy with dark brown hair and stern light brown eyes made to call out loudly for all to hear.

"There what did I tell you guys? No way a midget like that could get in unless she's a Captain's privileged brat! I bet she didn't even take the test like us normal hardworking-"

"Excuse me but if you want to get your details you must wait your turn  _quietly_ " the woman at the administration desk frowned sternly and the men fell silent, though they still eyed Layla with small sneers.

_Just ignore them! Ignore them! You're here to make a fresh start!_

Layla quickly turned back to the clerk who quickly handed her a new PADD.

"All your entry pamphlets are programmed as well as your timetable and dormitory details. There are also a few maps in there as well just in case you get lost. The campus is pretty big after all"

"Yeah…so I've seen" Layla muttered as she took the device in her hand doing her best to ignore the sniggers from the guys behind.

The clerk spared the rude younger men a disgusted look of disdain before giving Layla a reassuring nod.

"You'll be fine honey. If you're anything like your father they'll all be eating their stupid words in no time"

"Thanks" Layla couldn't help but smile gratefully at that. People always seemed to like her dad even if they hadn't served with or under him in the call of duty, not that she could blame them. Christopher Pike was a good man after all and a good captain.

She could only hope she'd ever get to serve a captain like him when she graduated.

And so it was with such prideful thoughts in her head that she made to confidently stride out of the lobby but not before giving the rude men from before a glare.

They narrowed their eyes in return, their leader making to open his mouth to make another snide remark only to be interrupted as another voice called cheerfully

"Hey Layla!"

Layla turned and grinned as she saw a tall man with a full blonde head of hair walk up to her with a smug grin on his face.

"Jim" Layla sighed with relief as James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk came level with her "I'm glad to see you've passed the application test."

"Easy as cake" Jim grinned down at her "how about you? How did your test go?"

"Oh yeah totally fine. I got the marks I wanted for my courses so that's good" Layla shrugged though Jim could tell that she was tense about something. But even as he glanced about he saw the scathing leers from the three men she was standing in front of.

"Who are these guys?" he asked with slightly narrowed eyes.

"Oh just some idiots I just happened to pass by." And with that Layla turned on her three offenders "Next time you have something to say, say it to my face like real men  _cowards!_ "

There were several gasps as she then made to put up a very rude hand gesture with her middle finger.

Jim couldn't contain the loud snort as the three men before her blinked in stunned amazement. None of them seemed to have had expected the much smaller girl to give a fight back it seemed.

"You know" he grinned behind Layla's back "I don't have a clue what you guys said but you'd better not do it again unless you want to end up on the floor out cold"

"Nah! That's no fun. I'd much rather neuter them instead!" Layla muttered darkly and there were several sniggers from other people in the line as the men all turned as pale as parchment, one of them even shifting his hands in front of his privates.

"Whoa! Ok! Ok! I'm sure these guys won't mess with you again. Now come on Bones is waiting for us outside" Jim chuckled as he clapped a hand onto Layla's shoulder and made to steer her out of the lobby as quickly as possible.

"Wait Bones? Who's Bones?" Layla tilted her head with confusion as she allowed herself and her blue suitcase to be tugged out into the slightly nippy Autumn air of the large courtyard.

"You know Leonard McCoy, the doctor we met on the shuttle?"

"Oh right! The paranoid guy with the accent who was afraid of flying" Layla nodded.

"Paranoid-guy with the accent who's afraid of flying?" a gruff voice repeated "That's a new one"

Jim snorted as Layla wheeled about to see the aforementioned doctor himself standing behind the two of them with folded arms and a stern look.

Unlike the two younger people before him Leonard McCoy was already dressed in the maroon Starfleet cadet's uniform. Layla was surprised to notice that his face, which had once been grubby and shadowed by lots of stubble, was now clean shaven and his once shaggy brown hair was trimmed off into a clean cut suitable for duty.

Layla quickly dipped her head down with an embarrassed grimace.

"Sorry" she mumbled.

But to her surprise Leonard just smirked.

"S'ok kid how's it going? Heard some bozo's in the lobby gave you trouble"

"I'm a Captain's daughter. Dealing with idiots is an occupational hazard" Layla rolled her eyes and Leonard snorted with laughter.

Jim Kirk grinned wide. He could tell the three of them were going to get along great.

* * *

 

_Well here it is…_

Layla sighed as she came up to her dorm room door which was located on the second block, second floor room B1.

_My new home sweet home…_

She felt her gut sink slightly as she reached out towards the unfamiliar shiny security pad on the side of the door.

It seemed just yesterday, no scratch that, it WAS yesterday that she had bid her parents both goodnight before settling into her own bedroom for the night.

She couldn't recall never having slept far from the room her parents had occupied and she had never had to share her space, as she had never had a sibling.

And now here she was about to share a dorm with a total stranger.

It was with great trepidation that she sucked in a deep breath and made to step through the automatic sliding door and said aloud.

"Lights fifty percent"

The room was spacious, with two beds on either side of the room perpendicular to the doorway with and two desks on the wall opposite them. On the wall opposite the entrance was another door that was currently open, revealing the tiled floor of a combined toilet and bathroom.

_Well…it's not too bad I guess…_

Layla cautiously stepped around the room, setting her bag and suitcase on the second bed closest to the bathroom.

She was, thankfully, an early riser and very disciplined in her morning routine.

She could only hope her roommate wouldn't mind.

She checked the small alarm clock on the bedside table beside her and saw that it was set to twenty-four hour time.

_It's eleven o clock in the morning still…and the Academy orientation assembly doesn't start till one o'clock…I have time…_

She bit her lip as she set her suitcase onto the bed and unzipped it open.

In it were a variety of clothes, a mixture of her favourite casual and fancy wear plus some of her favourite books and sketching supplies.

After very delicately settling her pencil-case and sketchbook onto the bed sheets beside her, she made to pull out the red ensemble of the Starfleet cadet uniform. Due to her short size she had decided to stick with the skirt and top combo as she could readjust the hem if need be. Also she promised her parents she would stick close to the rules, even if that meant wearing the ridiculously short skirt.

She had just about gotten the above mentioned skirt as well as the red turtleneck top on when the door to her room opened and a familiar female voice called out to her.

"Layla?"

"oh hey Nyota!" Layla smiled as the dark head of Nyota Uhura poked around the corner of the open door.

"Hey. I saw you come in just now."

"Is your room nearby?" Layla asked and Uhura nodded.

"Just across the hall. So if you need anything you know where to find me? Where's your roommate?"

"To hell if I know" Layla shrugged as she made to slip on her new pair of fitted black boots over her feet. "What about you?"

At this Uhura rolled her eyes, half with disgust half with fond exasperation as she made to step into the room and lean by the doorway.

"Gaila's already making herself quite at home with some random guy already. He's a bit of a creep but I guess he serves his purpose for her urges"

"Urges?"

"She's Orion"

"Ah" Layla nodded "right that explains it. Though I would be pretty pissed too if my roommate kept bringing random idiots to the room."

"Yeah." Uhura sighed "I mean she's not a bad person don't get me wrong but…I don't know…maybe I'm just a prude, but I'd prefer giving myself to a guy that I'm in an established relationship with and not a stranger."

"Fair enough" Layla shrugged, only to smirk wickedly. "You already have someone special in mind for that spot don't you? and It's someone here at the Academy…"

Uhura flushed red so quickly that it was a wonder she didn't faint from all the blood that rushed upwards.

"I don't know what you're talking about…and even if I did…I wouldn't tell anyone now" she clipped but Layla just smirked.

"Not even me?"

"no" Uhura folded her arms.

"What if I were to guess the guy's name?" Layla's grin widened "Then would you tell me?"

"You're almost as bad as that Jim Kirk, you know that."

"You're never going to give him your first name are you?"

"Only when pigs fly!"

Uhura just rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help but smile as the younger girl burst out laughing.

* * *

 

**Star-date 2255.244**

It was finally the first day of lessons. After a very long orientation day which included a full tour of the entire Academy and introduction seminars to all divisions of study, Layla Pike was fully prepared to just sit and glaze over in her seat as she ate her breakfast alone at her small table.

As she chewed on her porridge she fleetingly glanced over at another table where several female cadets were all sitting chatting and gossiping with big smiles.

Layla recognised one of the women as her roommate, a twenty-one-year-old half Betazoid female by the name of Kenina Brand.

She was a nice person Layla supposed, though both of them were quiet and kept mostly to themselves. Kenina didn't seem to mind that Layla was younger and made no mention of the topic.

Other people however were not so understanding. Like the three rude young men that had insulted Layla the day before at the lobby, and were now passing her table by with sneers and whispers as they made to sit at the table next to her.

"Look it's the midget again" their leader, the guy with the brown hair and eyes sniggered as he and his friends, one a bald but squint eyed Asian and the other a short weedy guy with the face like a rat chortled beside him.

"Hey, short-ass! Why aren't you sitting with all the other captain's brats like a good little girl?"

Layla stayed silent, only sparing them one look of disdain before haughtily sniffing and turning back to her food.

But the guys did not leave, they only sneered wider.

"Oh, I think I get it now" the rat-faced guy leered down at her, "The brat thinks she's better than us does she?"

_Yes, I do…_

Layla thought though she kept her eyes fixed on her spoon in front of her.

"pff! yeah right! Like she could.-"

Layla's hand clenched about her utensil as the squint eyed Asian guy chortled

"-I mean we worked hard to get enlisted. And what did she do?"

"Probably batted her pretty little eyes at Daddy and got it handed up to her on a silver platter"

"At least she has pretty eyes," A voice said and Layla quickly turned her head just in time to see Jim and Leonard make to stand beside the seats next to her.

"Is this seat taken?" Jim asked and Layla shook her head and gestured to the

"No, feel free"

"Indeed I shall" Jim smiled though Layla was faintly surprised to see that although he was smiling, his blue eyes were unmistakeably cold with disgust as they assessed her three insulters who all exchanged grimaces before their leader made to mutter.

"Come on. Let's go"

As they left Leonard glowered over the cup of coffee in his hand.

"Morons" he muttered as Jim made to ask Layla.

"Why did you let them say those things?"

"I wasn't letting them say anything" Layla replied coolly as she quietly blew on a spoonful of porridge "I was ignoring them. Big difference. Besides… I promised my dad I wouldn't pick fights anymore so…"

"Pick fights?" Leonard muttered and Layla smirked only for her face to fall when he diverted his attention to take a large swig of coffee.

Jim saw this at once and quickly made eyed the red cadet's jacket on the doctor, who rolled his eyes with irritation.

"I see you're all cleaned up Bones"

"Quit calling me that" Leonard snapped moodily.

"Why are you calling him Bones?" Layla looked up at Jim whose grin widened as he made to shrug in mock innocence.

"Because when we all first met he said all he had left was his bones. Plus he's a doctor so bones, skeletons y'know that sort of medical stuff"

Layla had to smirk as Leonard just shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Oh come on you love it and you know it" Jim grinned before turning to Layla with a smug smile like a child proud of his sandcastle he made on the beach "I'm going to be attending the Command school."

"well Congratulations" Leonard nodded seemingly torn between sarcasm and amusement at the younger man's antics "and good luck. From what I've heard not many people make it into command school let alone pass their first semester. Apparently, the standards are much tougher"

But Jim's grin only widened.

"All the more reason to do It." he then turned to Layla with excitement "What are you majoring in? Command? Sciences?"

"Actually I…um…I'm applying for a double major."

"Double?" Jim spluttered almost choking on his own spit.

"Yeah double" Layla shrugged nonchalantly. "In Tactical and Security"

"Tactical AND Security?!" now it was Leonard's turn to have his eyes bulge out of his sockets as he looked down at the tiny girl before him.

"No offence sweetheart but aren't you a bit young and small to be…" the doctor trailed off gesturing to her person.

Layla raised her eyebrows.

"Too small be what  _doc_?"

Leonard gulped as the girl's glacial blue eyes took on an expression that looked as icy and sharp as a raging blizzard.

Jim quickly stepped in-between the doctor and the girl putting his hands up in a placating manner.

"Easy there Tiger! and Bones," Jim turned to Leonard barely suppressing a smirk "Trust me, I've seen her in action. She saved my ass in a bar fight. Knocked two guys double her size down with just a hit each"

"Wait a moment… when was this?" Bones quickly frowned suddenly fixing Layla with a thoughtful look which quickly turned into one of recognition.

"The night before we met on the Shuttle?" Layla folded her arms over her small chest. "Why?"

Leonard's brow furrowed as he eyed the girl suspiciously.

"Did you by any chance chew at a cadet's ear?"

"…yes…" Layla frowned but Jim was quick to cotton on.

"Oh god, did you patch him up?"

"Yeah. I did." Leonard nodded with an irritable scowl. "he and three others. One of them had a completely smashed up nose and the other had a nasty bruise in the shape of a boot under his chin. I was wondering how he could get such a hit…and from such a small foot too"

"Well now you know" the corners of Layla's mouth twitched upwards smugly.

Leonard himself couldn't help the tiny smirk that spread across his face as he raised his coffee mug as if to toast the younger girl.

"Well if that's the case…then I wish you all the luck in whatever you chose to do kid"

"Thank's Doc" Layla smiled and Leonard grinned.

Jim frowned.

"Hey! Wait a moment when she gives you a nickname you smile but when I call you Bones you-"

"Jim godammit I'm a doctor not a Halloween skeleton!" the doctor steamrolled over him with a glower. Layla laughed loudly.

Many other cadets around them gazed curiously at the odd trio as they quietly conversed and joked with one another, or rather Jim whined at Leonard who made to grumble irritably whilst Layla chortled at both their antics.

Amongst the sea of curious people, one blank face stood out starkly. It was that of a man, pale and tinged slightly with green, with pointed-tipped ears and swept up dark eyebrows all framed within a bowl cut hairstyle.

He stared at the three new cadets with nothing more than a curious quirk of his left eyebrow and a small glint in his brown eyes to convey his intrigue, vast though it was.

He had never seen humans bond into a group of close friends so quickly, especially considering their ages. The gruff doctor was at least in his late thirties early forties, the blonde haired cocky young man was most certainly in his early twenties and the girl, most surprisingly of all, was barely even fifteen years of age.

He continued to watch them quietly from his spot as the girl made to wipe her hands on a paper napkin before making to check her timetable on her PADD.

Layla couldn't help the tiny grin that spread over her face as she looked over her classes for the day.

**Student Name: Layla Serena Pike**

**Period 1 – (SURV101) Starship Emergency Procedures**

**Period 2 – (TAC104) Introduction to Military Strategy and Doctrines**

**Lunch**

**Period 3 – (TAC106) Introduction to Military History**

**Period 4 – (CS 101) Introduction to Computer sciences**

**Period 5 – (TAC101) Hand to Hand Combat Training**

"Wow you've got a five period day?" Jim whistled low as he looked over her shoulder to peek at her PADD. "Oh cool we've got both periods two and three together. Wait Computer sciences?"

"I like to dabble in other things too" Layla grinned "besides that will be a good bludge subject before my combat training"

"I wouldn't be so sure about bludging here kid" Leonard gave Layla a stern frown "This ain't high school, you can't just cruise by on one lesson and expect your average to remain the same."

"I'll manage" Layla shrugged "Besides I like computers so when I say bludge I really mean that it won't feel like work even if it is because I'll enjoy it. Also…everything else I'm going to be learning is going to be rather active and dynamic so I thought studying something centred on logical methodical thinking would be nice to balance it out. I mean what's the point in studying methods of combat if you don't have a level head to enact it?"

_Fascinating…_

The humanoid blinked. Truth be told he had not expected such a collected response from one so young.

_She's actively seeking a balance between emotion and logic when most of those her age would be trying to do the opposite…_

Like that blonde cadet that sat next to her...for some reason, the face looked familiar, though the humanoid knew he had never before seen it on campus. Perhaps he had seen an image. But however much he tried to remember he could not put a name to the face.

The swept up brows of the silent watcher could not help the small but gentle furrow nor the small shifting in his grey dress uniform as he made to lean in and watch a little closer as the young girl cadet made to say:

"Also from a tactical perspective wouldn't it be more beneficial on a ship if security knew not only how to just physically keep the crew safe but also keep it digitally safe as well? I have grown up seeing the computerised security protocols on these Starships and let me tell you they could use some better fail-safes than the… Oh…"

Layla gulped as she saw that both Jim and Leonard were both looking at her blankly.

"Sorry" She blushed with embarrassment as she made to tuck a stray black lock behind her ear. "I tend to tattle when I get…just…feel free to shut me up if you get bored."

"Why would we be bored?" Jim questioned curiously. "I know I'm not. Bones are you?"

Jim frowned glancing at Leonard.

"No…I'm not bored either" the doctor now was eyeing Layla with a small grimace of concern. "As long as you speak English and not in whatever technical mumbo jumbo you smart kids use nowadays"

"Fair enough" Layla had to give a small smile at that in spite of her nerves.

_Maybe Dad was right…_

She thought as she made to take a sip of her orange juice beside her.

_Maybe this Academy will be different after all…_

Meanwhile just a little way away at the small table the grey suited, senior officer sat up a little straighter as a familiar tall dark skinned young woman made to pass him and smile.

"Good Morning Commander Spock"

"Good morning Cadet. I trust you had a good summer break" the humanoid, Spock, made to nod up at Nyota Uhura, whose face brightened at once at the acknowledgement.

"Yes I did and you?"

"My summer was uneventful but fulfilling in its purpose to seek respite from work" Spock answered appropriately though he found himself distracted by a momentary small snort of laughter and a groan

"Miss Uhura" Spock tilted his head ever so slightly, his brown eyes betraying the only hint of his true intrigue. "who are those cadets?"

"Oh them" Uhura followed her senior officers gaze and her smile turned into a small amused smirk as the trio of Leonard, Layla and Jim made to fall quickly into laughter once more.

"That's um…That's Leonard McCoy, he's a doctor I think. And that" she pointed to Layla "That's Captain Pike's daughter Layla. She's a nice kid. A bit rough and tough sometimes but nice. And that" now Uhura's smirk turned into more of a grimace as she looked on Jim "that is Jim Kirk"

"Kirk?" Spock's eyebrows were now furrowed enough to show a distinct crease in the middle of his forehead "Is he by any chance related to the late Lieutenant George Samuel Kirk?"

"Yes, his son apparently" Uhura nodded though it was fairly unenthusiastic as she rolled her eyes "he's a bit of a pig…but if Layla can like him then I suppose he can't be all that bad. Why what's wrong… sir?" she added quickly, only suddenly remembering who she was talking to.

"Nothing is wrong" Spock responded quietly. "I was merely wondering since I think I have Cadet Pike in my first-year Introduction to Computer Sciences class."

"Oh…I see…" Uhura blinked with surprise just as a small beeping noise began to ring out about the cafeteria.

Layla, Jim and Leonard all looked about as the alert went off though no warning emergency lights were flashing.

"What in god's name-Already!" the doctor grumbled loudly.

"What's going on?" Layla frowned looking about but Jim was smirking.

"First bell for first period."

"First period" Layla's face paled.

"Yep," Jim popped the P loudly. "I do believe class is in session"

* * *

 

Layla felt like not butterflies, but dragons were swirling about in her gut.

Jim and Leonard had their first classes in the second and third block respectively and so it was with mounting trepidation that she made her way alone to her first lecture hall located in the first block on the second floor.

The hallways she made to dash through were crowded to the brim that it was amazing anyone could move an inch let alone walk down them.

Many people kept bumping into one another and whilst Layla did her best to duck and avoid touching people she could not help the rather pathetic squeak of surprise that she collided heavily with someone headlong.

_Head to head…someone just as short as me? What are the odds?_

"Ow" Layla and her equally vertically challenged road block, both groaned much to the amusement of a lot of the taller cadets and seniors that swarmed around them.

"Sorry" she mumbled as she made to adjust her small messenger bag, patting it down to check that nothing had been broken inside. "I should've looked where I was going"

"Net, net, ya proshu proshcheniya! Eto byla moya vina" the voice of a young boy made to quickly cry out and Layla frowned.

"Pardon?"

"Ah! Sorry!" the boy groaned as he finally lifted his head from where he was scrambling on the ground.

He was around her own age, small, thin and gangly, with tight light brown curls that sat atop his head like a mop and large hazel eyes that would put a Labrador puppy's to shame. In the red cadet uniform he looked positively swamped out. Layla was faintly reminded of a small tin soldier without she had once seen in the window of a toy store at Christmas, only this boy didn't have the tall bearskin hat to go with the rest of his ensemble.

As he glanced up at Layla he quickly blushed brightly with embarrassment, his slightly oversized ears even going pink as roses.

"Sorry I forget, I must speak English!" he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else "I'm sorry miss, I bumped into you when I should've"

"It's alright. I'm fine. No harm, no foul we didn't kill each other" Layla cut across him resisting the urge to giggle. She couldn't help it, the boy had a funny accent, his 'S's were more like Z's and his r's had a slight roll.

She wondered curiously where it came from. After years as a unified planet, Earth had slowly begun to lose many of its once distinct but numerous accents with few exceptions to those countries that took great national pride in them, like the Scottish and the Russians-

Layla blinked…

_Russian…that's a Russian Accent…_

"What's your name?" she asked as she and the boy quickly made to hoist themselves up to their feet.

"Um… Pavel Andreievich Chekov" the boy tilted his head down shyly as he coughed and awkwardly stuck out his hand.

Layla took it graciously.

"Layla Pike nice to meet you, Mr Chekov"

"Um, like-Vwise Miss Pike" Chekov nodded doing his best to roll his tongue around the odd W, though it ended up coming out as more of a V sound. "no offence but I don't think I've seen you around before?"

"I only applied this semester" Layla explained.

"Ah…that would explain a lot…" Chekov nodded before suddenly blurting out in a panicked hurry "Once again I'm really sorry I bumped into you."

"That's alright, to be fair I wasn't exactly paying good attention to where I was going" Layla shrugged. "So which class are you headed to?"

"The Starship Emergency Procedures" Chekov recited off the top of his head.

"Oh cool so am I" Layla's face brightened. "but I'm not quite sure where to go…this place is so huge"

"Yeah, it is…um…but I know my way around…maybe we can…walk together?"

Had Layla not had such good hearing she wouldn't have been able to hear a word the young boy had said.

"Yeah alright, that sounds good. Let's go then shall we?" She smiled wide and Chekov at once turned a brilliant shade of red as he gave a small dumb nod.

As they walked along the now emptying corridor in companionable silence, the young boy cursed himself for his lack of communication skills. Here he was walking beside a really cute girl about his own age and he could think of nothing at all to say.

If only he could've been cool and tall like those other male cadets he was always surrounded by…

It didn't help his esteem much when he and Layla entered the lecture hall for their lesson, only for their classmates to smirk at the two of them.

"Oh look" a man snorted as they passed "Little Whiz kid has finally got a little date to class"

"Oh don't be mean" a young woman behind the man swatted him hard on the back of the head. "I think it's sweet. Look how cute they are all small and tiny together"

Poor Chekov was the shade of a beetroot by the time he and Layla had made to sit beside a taller young lean Asian man, with short black hair and dark eyes that made to assess the girl with amused curiosity.

"You're in luck Pasha! The teacher ain't here yet. Who's your cute new friend?" he smirked down at the younger boy quietly and Chekov scowled up at him.

"Not now Hikaru"

"Alright chill I'm not judging" Hikaru Sulu put his hands up in surrender before adding in a more serious note "But seriously who is she?"

"Layla Pike" Chekov mumbled and Sulu's eyebrows rose as he and Layla locked eyes for a moment.

"Pike eh? Like Captain Pike?"

"Yes is there a problem?" Layla asked quietly.

"Not really" Sulu shrugged nonchalantly "just curious that's all…what's your major?"

"Security and Tactical…you?" Layla tilted her head a little.

"Operations…hoping to specialise in Helms and Communication."

"Nice" Layla tried to smile only for Sulu to shrug.

"Yes…yes, I guess it is…"

"…"

"…"

Chekov bit his lip as a silence began to stretch on for longer than a minute between the two cadets.

_Vell…dis is awkvard…_

He opened his mouth to speak only for Layla's PADD to go off as she received a message on it.

_James T. Kirk to Layla S. Pike –_

_Hey there Tiger. Thought you might find this funny._

And just below these words was an excerpt from the digital Academy news bulletin.

_"Who Beamed the Dogs Out? By Martin O'Farrell. Barely a day into the new semester this Autumn and Montgomery Scott, Academy aide for Advanced Relativistic Mechanics has decided to bless us all with his maverick experiments once more in an attempt to prove his highly controversial theory of Transwarp beaming. This time however it is not the fate of a grapefruit he chooses to doom with his mad science…but instead Admiral Archer's very own prized Beagle. It is unknown what has happened to the poor canine since he was dematerialised on the Academy's training transporter decks, but it is safe to say that Mr Scott's fate isn't looking too bright at all. One can only hope for his sake that the Academy board's bark is worse than their bite."_

Layla snorted loudly

_Beaming dogs to oblivion? Oh god, who am I kidding, this place is way better than high-school!_

* * *

 

"She is fitting in then?" the voice of a man made to ask quietly as someone else, a younger male made to mumble.

"Yes, Sir…the girl…Miss Pike is handling herself pretty well at the academy"

"Good…good…" the first voice mumbled, "Very good anything else you'd like to add?"

"Well sir…" the second voice gulped "Miss Pike seems to be quickly befriending a certain Jim Kirk sir. Y'know…the younger son of George Kirk…"

"Oh really?" the first voice seemed to slip into a deadly purr "That's…that's just… perfect"

"Perfect sir?"

"Oh yes very perfect indeed" the first voice smirked "now all we need to do is make sure they both keep hanging onto one another for the next three years. It shouldn't be too difficult. Control what people love and they melt like putty in your palms…"

The first voice now softened down to barely a hiss.

"And who better to be a young man's crux than a sweet innocent girl he just  _has_  to protect and look after?"

"Um…she won't be sweet or innocent for much longer" the second voice nervously pointed out only for the first voice to chuckle

"Pff! Sweet? Innocent? Old! Young! It doesn't matter. If there's one thing I know about the Kirk's it's that they just love to play the courageous heroes, especially when they grow fond of someone. You mark my words, when we finally can hook Miss Pike into our fold, Jim Kirk will be sure to follow…and won't that just make a formidable weapon for us indeed"

 


	5. The Things That Test Us

Layla Serena Pike almost could have clocked her own head on the buttons at her tactical station in exasperation and it had only been three and a half minutes into the test.

It didn't help her already grated nerves when she turned around to see James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk sitting languidly in the captain's chair of the simulator happily chomping on an apple. She watched as Nyota Uhura glared down her friend with an almost venomous loathing

"We are receiving a distress signal from the U.S.S Kobayashi Maru. The ship has lost power and is stranded. Starfleet Command has ordered us to rescue them"

"Starfleet Command has ordered us to rescue them… _Captain_ "

There was no doubt about it now. Uhura was giving Jim the look that one would spare for a cockroach crawling in their garbage.

Layla supposed she should have been defending Jim right about now, but Uhura was also her friend and the younger girl could not deny that the elder one had more than enough reason to be pissed off at him.

But Layla didn't have any more time to worry about that for long as Leonard "Bones" McCoy made to speak up from a nearby station.

"Two Klingon vessels have entered the Neutral zone and are locking weapons on us"

"That's ok" Jim shrugged and everyone in the mock bridge crew turned round to stare blankly at him.

"That's  _ok_?" Layla was looking at him as though he had grown a second head, one that was probably nodding in tandem with his normal one as he grinned wide.

"Yeah don't worry about it"

The instructors and senior officers in the elevated observation room that overlooked the simulator also were scratching their heads.

"Did he say 'don't worry about it?'" one instructor glanced to his fellow who frowned worriedly.

"Is he not taking this simulation seriously?"

"three more Klingon warbirds de-cloaking and targeting our ship" Leonard glanced at Jim through his peripheral as he tersely clipped "I don't suppose this is a problem either?"

"They're  _firing_ " Layla announced to the room at large her voice almost a groan of aggravation.

Jim's grin only widened.

"Alert Medical Bay to prepare to receive all crew members from the damaged ship"

"And how do you expect us to rescue them when we're surrounded by Klingons,  _Captain_?" Uhura spat pointing at the mock bridge's large front window through which an image of the ensuing attack was being simulated.

"Alert medical" Jim whispered pointedly just as Layla made to speak once more.

"Our ship is taking hits. Shield level at 60%"

"I understand" Jim waved her off but Layla just snapped irritably.

"Of course you do that's why we're not firing back, right?"

"Exactly" Jim smirked and she rolled her eyes.

"Jackass! I was being sarcasti-huh my screen?" but even as she made to press at the buttons on her station her screen began to flicker oddly. She was not the only one confused. Everyone else was tapping their screens desperately as they all turned black.

"What the bloody hell is this bullshit?" Leonard mumbled his face set in a snarl as he held himself back from ramming his fist into his console.

Layla finally spun her chair around to round on her mock Captain who was smiling as smugly as a cat who had caught all the cream.

"Jim what did you do?"

But Jim only gave her a tiny roguish wink and a small finger to his lips before announcing to the bridge at large.

"Layla would you be a dear and arm the photons to fire"

"You mean to tell me you moron" Layla hissed her temper barely being held back by the barest of threads "that you want me to fire at an enemy ship whilst their shields are still up?"

"Oh but are they?" Jim took a chomp on his apple and Layla had to take a deep breath to steady herself before turning back to her console.

However the readings on her screen were nothing that she was prepared for.

"Their shields…" Leonard frowned as he too checked his screens "they're disabled…"

"Fire on all enemy ships. One photon each should do it. Let's not waste ammunition" Jim commanded his mock bridge crew who at once set upon carrying out the order.

"Target locked and acquired on all warbirds." a junior officer beside Layla glanced to her and she nodded.

"Got that Gibson. Firing photons now" she growled as she glanced up at the enemy ships on the simulation screen which all began to blow up into smithereens as small balls of bright energy hit them.

After a couple of seconds, all the Klingon Warbirds were floating around in a mass of debris and exploding metal.

"All ships destroyed, Captain" one of the other cadets announced and Jim's smile returned to his face.

"Begin rescue of the stranded crew"

Layla exchanged a glance with Leonard who was pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation as their mock captain stood up, clapping each of them on the backs as he passed them.

"So, we've managed to eliminate all enemy ships, no one on-board was injured,  _and_ the successful rescue of the Kobayashi Maru is underway"

With a smug little smirk Jim Kirk took a cheeky bite of his apple and looked up at the dark windows of their lecturer's observation room.

He couldn't see it through the one way glass but he could tell from the silence about him that they were shocked.

Indeed one instructor turned to his side and said:

"How the hell did that kid beat your test?"

The person to whom he had been talking to turned round to face him. Though his pale, slightly green tinged face was impassive, one swept up eyebrow was quirked so high that it disappeared into the blunt bangs that framed his brown eyes as he calmly replied:

"I do not know"

"Sir! Sir!"

* * *

"Yes lieutenant"

"Sir…the Kobayashi Maru test…it's been passed."

"What?! by who?"

"Cadet James T. Kirk sir."

"Kirk eh?…lieutenant"

"Yes sir?"

"Was Cadet Pike apart of his simulation team?"

"Yes… like she always is sir…why do you ask?"

"Because…we'll need her"

"For what?"

"Kirk's first  _real_  test"

* * *

"Hey Kirk, congratulations!"

"Hey Jim, great job on the test"

"Hey Jim"

"Jim!"

"Jim!"

"Jim!"

Celebrations were underway down in the bar by the San Francisco docks. It was a fairly large building more than three stories. But even so tonight it was completely packed as cadets of Starfleet Academy swarmed in to congratulate Jim Kirk and his mock crew for passing what was supposed to be an unbeatable test. The Kobayashi Maru.

"Hey there handsome"

"Hello Ladies what can I help you with?" Jim Kirk grinned as two very attractive female cadets made to press themselves up against his sides.

"Well" one of them batted her eyelashes up at him flirtatiously "we were just wondering…how you passed the test after two times?"

"Well you know what they say, three times the charm" Jim shrugged in mock modesty before murmuring "But if you two want I can give you both a special private demonstration of my battle tactics. But you've got to keep it a secret alright"

From the sidelines Layla Serena Pike rolled her eyes as both women giggled loudly, pressing their curves even closer to her friend.

"It just doesn't add up" She muttered softly "Just how did he get through  _my_  firewall?"

"Well…we are talking about Jim here-" Leonard grumbled from her side as he took a sip of his drink.

Out of all the other Cadets beside her he was by far the only one who shared her rather bleak outlook on the whole success.

"-and let's both face it, he's one of the few people that is smart enough to keep up with you intellectually"

Layla spared the doctor a small grumpy pout as she stirred her straw through her untouched drink.

"You don't get it Leo. The instructors asked me to help reprogram the security firewalls. I had it pretty much air tight. Only me and a couple of other cadets from the computing class were supposed to have the key passwor-"

But then she stopped suddenly in her tracks and clapped a hand hard to her forehead.

"Of course! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!"

"What?" Leonard sighed heavily though he could already guess what she knew.

"Gaila! That silly twitter-brained-AGGH!" Layla hissed angrily almost tugging her hair out before standing to her feet.

"Hey where are you going?" Leonard frowned concernedly.

"I'm going to the gym" Layla spat as she began to harshly shove on her leather jacket. "I need to hit something hard"

"Kid the gym is locked as is every other sports facility on campus" Leonard stood to his feet too "Come on I'll take you back to the dorms ok?"

"No Leo!" Layla roughly shrugged off her friend's comforting hand from her shoulder "I just need a bit of space alright!"

Leonard's frown deepened as she continued to glare at him.

He had seen Layla get angry before, and it had been a rather terrifying experience, but this was different. Her whole body was tense, the muscles coiled as if ready to spring into action and her face…there was something feral and aggressive brewing deep within behind eyes as she snapped at him:

"I'm going outside for some fresh air. I'll find my own way to the dorms tonight"

"Layla" Leonard tried to reach out again but she was already striding off to slide between the bodies of other people in the crowd.

"Goddammit" he growled his eyes darting about. He paused as he caught sight of the glass she had been drinking from. It was still quarter full of amber coloured apple cider but there was something off about it.

He quickly snatched up the drink in his hands and his eyes widened as he caught sight of a small white powdery sediment begin to fall along the edges and to the bottom of the glass.

"What the" he whispered before dipping a finger into it, scooping up a little bit of the powder on his digit before quickly bringing it to his mouth. He spluttered and spat back into the glass as something plastic like and bitter hit his tongue.

_Wait a moment...plastic…bitter!_

"Whoa Bones!" a slightly tipsy Jim was grinning from ear to ear as two women hung onto each arm "What's up with you? You look like you've seen a…a…"

But Jim's faltered as he saw the expression on Leonard McCoy's face. It was so pale, he was near close to looking like death warmed up.

"Bones? What's wrong?" Jim gulped as the doctor finally looked sidelong at him. When he spoke his voice was shaking.

"Jim we've got to get out now!"

"What?" Jim frowned as Leonard made to grab him away from his two whining admirers "what are you talking abo-"

"Layla's in trouble"

Whatever symptoms of Jim Kirk's tipsiness suddenly seemed to vanish in an instant as his eyes widened. "what? How?"

"Look" Leonard shoved the glass he was holding into a surprised Jim's hands.

"What is it?" the younger man examined the glass carefully.

"It's benzoylmethylecgonine" the doctor's eyes hardened. "More commonly known as  _Cocaine_ and there's enough in this glass to kill ten men"

"Cocaine! But Layla would never touch any drugs so how…oh no…" Jim gulped as horror flooded his system as he grabbed Leonard's shoulders and shook them lightly "Where is she? How long has she been gone?"

"Back to the dorms just five minutes ago" Leonard spluttered as Jim let go of him his voice low as he hissed.

"Bones call Captain Pike at once, tell him of what's going on. He needs to know"

"What about you?"

"I'm going to find Layla"

* * *

Layla gulped as she felt her stomach lurch and clutched at the dark alley wall to her side.

It was dark all about her. Nothing was moving…she was alone…and all she could hear in her ears was the unnatural pounding of her heart in her ribcage as it pumped excessively hard for its normal standards. Her skin too felt like it was scorching, and that was saying something as her body was almost always slightly warmer than the average person.

Whatever shapes and colours that were before her eyes either intensified or swam in and out of focus. The effect was so disconcerting that she could feel whatever was in her gut rise up into her throat.

_No…hold it back! Hold it back till you're-oh shit!_

And before she could stop herself she keeled over onto all fours on the ground and heaved heavily.

Something was wrong with her. Something had happened to her in the past few minutes that was screwing with her body. But what had happened she could not tell…her brain was working far too fast for her to even pick out a coherent thought.

"Jim…Leo…" She groaned desperately in between wretches as her sick splattered over the pavement.

She faintly heard the footsteps of someone at a distance and raised her head to look up.

But what she saw only made her heart sink.

She didn't recognise the man at all. He was rugged and dressed in dark street clothes that had many a wear and tear on them. But it was his eyes that got to her…those pitiless smirking eyes, that only glinted with gleeful malice as he stalked towards her from the end of the ally way.

"Well, well, well. If it ain't one of you little Starfleet bitches" he sneered and Layla gulped hard to steady herself as she saw two knives flicker into existence from one of his hands. "All pretty and cute in your little red girl scout uniforms"

"Whoever you are" she spluttered trying her best to scramble backwards from him only for her back to hit a wall. "Leave me alone"

"Ha! Typical!" the man jeered as he caught sight of her predicament "You little Starfleet kids are all the same. You all think you're invincible with your starships. But put you on the ground and you're just as useless as anyone else"

Layla said nothing, she couldn't. She was feeling so sick, her body so stressed, that she felt like she was going to pass out at any moment. She fought hard to keep herself awake but it was difficult.

Her attacker meanwhile was stalking closer…and closer…twirling his knife in his hands over and over till it was a sickening metallic blur in front of Layla's eyes.

She struggled as she tried her best to remember her combat and tactical training, only for each piece of information to fly out the window as one horrible thought crossed her mind.

She was being attacked by someone with the element of surprise…she was alone and disoriented so badly she could barely stay conscious something her attacker was revelling in. He was obviously very disturbed mentally and didn't seem to mind her looks if those licentious eyes were anything to go by.

_He'll make sure I'm almost out of it…_

A small voice reasoned logically at the back of Layla's head.

_Then…he'll have his way with me…and then he'll dispose of me however he sees fit…_

Had Layla not been so sick she might've fought back the thoughts and the man before her by now. But even as she craned her neck up to look at him as he leant over her she knew she had no way out.

This was no simulation. This was real life…and it was going to be taken from her at any moment as the man over her made to lean in, his hands stroking the sides of her thighs-

"HEY YOU!"

Layla's attacker turned his head round just in time for a large fist to collide with his nose as a familiar young blonde haired man lunged from behind.

"Jim" Layla could do nothing but stare, panting for breath as her heartrate began to fly through the roof, though whether it was in relief or from her ailment she could not tell.

Jim however kept his eyes fixed solely on the lowlife scum he had pinned hard against the wall of the alley way.

His blue eyes blazed as he made to punch the man, over and over again, his hits almost merciless in their ferocity.

"No wait mister- I can expla-agh!"

But Jim did not stop hitting the man. Not until his eyes rolled back into his head with unconsciousness.

Only then did he let him drop to the floor, but not before giving him a small kick in the guts on the way down.

"And stay there you sonofabitch!" he grunted as he pulled his leg back to kick the knife away from the attackers hand.

"Jimmy…" Layla breathed and Jim turned to see her sitting by the wall limply her head lolling to the side like a ragdolls, tears streaming down her sweaty face.

Jim quickly rushed over to her and scooped her up in his arms muttering softly.

"It's ok Lay. It's ok…I've got you."

"Jim…I feel really…" Layla faltered her hand flying up to her mouth as she tried her best to choke back her vomit once more.

"Layla just hold on, you're going to be alright. Bones is on his way, he's right here"

Layla felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes as another familiar voice reached her ears, this one deep and gruff but worried all the same.

"Jim! Jim!"

"Over here Bones" Jim called still doing his best to cradle the young girl in his arms as carefully as he could as the doctor came rushing over.

"Jim…" Layla's breath was barely a whisper now and it took all the doctor had in him to keep his cool as he caught sight of the scumbag responsible who was still lying unconscious close by.

"Bloody bastard. Don't worry I've got just the tool for the job. Naloxone. Jim keep her still"

Jim barely had tightened his grip on the girl when Leonard swiftly jabbed a hypospray into her exposed thigh, expelling its contents into her system quickly before making to examine her face.

"Her pupils should be contracting" he muttered as he smoothed the dark hair on her forehead away from her face "That's right sweetheart just keep breathing."

Jim's heart was speeding so fast in his body he felt like he would have a heart attack any second as he watched the completely dilated pupils slowly but surely begin to narrow, just as her breaths began to deepen and regulate properly.

"Leo…I still feel sick…" Layla whimpered softly after a few minutes pause.

"Yeah you will for a little bit" Leonard muttered softly, his eyes wells of pity as he turned to look at an ashen faced Jim.

"She'll be fine. She just needs to rest it off at the infirmary"

Jim nodded mutely as he made to stand, still holding on tight to Layla in his arms as Leonard also made to follow.

He just didn't know what to think. It was like stepping into a horrible was one of his closest friends, one of the smartest most strongest people he'd ever known, and she was about to die at the hands of a lunatic after someone plugged her so full of drugs she could barely breathe straight.

_But why?_

His mind could not help but question even in his fearful shocked state.

_Why did this happen? And who wanted it to happen?_

But little did Jim Kirk know that when he and his two friends left the ally way, the man that had attacked Layla stirred and put a hand to his ear.

"Agent Kallen reporting in" he rasped "…Miss Pike is safe…I made sure to stall until Cadet's Kirk and McCoy could find me?"

" _And did Kirk react accordingly_?" another man's voice whispered softly on the other end of the communication link.

The man on the ally floor nodded.

"Yes…he did…"

" _Good…_ " the voice on the other end hissed triumphantly " _Very good…. Oh and what perfect timing all the data you collected earlier today has just been sent to Commander Spock…I must say…_ "

The voice softened to a purr.

_"This is turning out to be a very good night indeed."_

"Glad I could be of help Sir" the man on the ally floor snorted only to swoon a little as he tried to stand up.

God that Jim Kirk could deal a hard hit.

* * *

 


	6. Hangars On

**Chapter 5: Hangar's On**

**_Star-date 2258. 246_ **

"Are you sure you're alright?"

"For the last time Jim I'm fine" Layla snapped as she ran a hand over her head before adding in a mumble. "But I'm still pissed off at you"

"Huh?" Jim Kirk quickly pulled his hand back and exchanged a glance quickly with Leonard as the doctor frowned concernedly.

Layla seeing their discomfort sighed heavily.

"Sorry…it's just… I'm just feeling a little low. I'll be fine once I eat"

"Or drink in your case" Leonard grumbled darkly as he placed a bowl of chicken soup before the young girl in the Infirmary bio bed.

"Oh don't give me that face kid." He snorted as she pulled a face "It's just for this morning. If you can keep this down then I'll discharge you and you can have normal food"

"Fine" Layla huffed taking the spoon and taking a cautious sip of the watery soup.

As she ate Leonard ushered Jim over towards him.

"What's up Bones? You look like you've seen a ghost" the younger man frowned but Leonard just shook his head.

"To be quite honest Jim I'm not sure what I'm seeing"

"What do you mean?" Jim blinked.

"What I mean, is that normally after ingesting so much of such a stimulant, a person should be lying in that bed strapped up to all the machines money could buy and fighting for their lives. But look!"

Leonard gulped as he quickly chanced a glance over his shoulder. Layla was still eating quietly, though she was already halfway through her soup.

"Layla's all fine" Jim breathed before quickly snapping his attention back to the doctor who nodded sternly.

"yes"

"And that's a bad thing?" Jim tried to smirk but it faltered under the doctor's withering gaze.

"Look Jim…the world is made up of many kinds of species. Big ones, small ones, fat ones, microscopic bacterium, giant flesh eating bugs etcetera etcetera. But I have never, and I mean never, seen anyone completely human be able to self-heal their bodies, nor metabolise a dangerous overdose of drugs in one night. Now listen I'm not saying that I don't like Layla anymore" he added when Jim opened his mouth to retort "No she's still our friend no matter what but still I'm just worried…if someone else finds out about this…"

He trailed off and Jim's face paled at once.

"If someone else finds out about this then what?"

But Leonard shook his head and gruffly grumbled.

"Do I honestly have to spell out what some crazy lunatic would do with such information?"

"NO!" Jim spluttered and then coughed quickly to hide his mistake "no…I get it. I-"

But then just at that moment a loud announcement called over the mostly empty infirmary.

_"All third year cadets please report to the assembly hall for an emergency session"_

"Emergency session?" Jim frowned just as Leonard groaned.

"Ah great!"

"What?" Jim turned to see where the doctor was looking at and rolled his eyes.

"Crap"

Layla's bio bed was empty.

"God we turn our backs for two seconds-"

"Tell me about it" Jim grumbled and Leonard face-palmed.

"You're one to talk. Come on let's get a move on"

* * *

They eventually found Layla sitting in the Assembly Hall, in the fourth row from the front just two empty seats down from the aisle. She was dressed fully in her red cadet uniform that made her icy eyes pop even as they glared straight ahead.

"After this young lady, you are headed straight back to the med bay" Leonard growled gruffly as he and Jim sidled into their spots beside her.

"Please take a seat" she responded dryly though she made no further move to acknowledge their presences.

Jim followed her gaze and noticed that she was eyeing the Admiral's benches that sat on the ground level of the amphitheatre like room with curious intrigue.

"A full panel?" he breathed and she nodded quietly, putting a finger up to her lips as Admiral Barnette, who sat in the centremost seat of the panel opposite, made to speak.

"This session has been called to resolve a troubling matter. James T. Kirk step forward"

Jim froze in his seat his eyes wide as not just the admiral's, but the entire room's eyes all swivelled around to look at him in shock. Only Layla was calm as she reached out to nudge him with her elbow.

He quickly glanced sidelong at her as she murmured under her breath.

"Remember the rulebook"

He nodded dumbly as he made to stand to his feet and walk down to the podiums set on the ground facing the admiral's bench.

As soon as he was in place, Admiral Barnett spoke again.

"Cadet Kirk evidence has been submitted to this council suggesting that you violated the ethical code of conduct pursuant to Regulation 1-7.4-3 of the Starfleet Code. Is there anything you care to say before we begin sir?"

"Yes" Jim coughed in an attempt to soothe his already shaken nerves as he adopted a calm relaxed mask "I believe I have the right to face my accuser directly"

There was the shuffling of material and everyone (including Jim) all turned to see a senior officer decked out in a dark grey dress uniform stand to his feet.

Layla felt her gut sink as she recognised the figure. He was tall and lean with short dark hair cut in a neat bowl cut on his head that framed his pointed ears and his pale face. His expression was strangely blank even as he made to straighten out the hem of his already immaculate jacket before stiffly walking down to join Jim on the floor, only he was standing at the other podium.

"This is Commander Spock" Admiral Barnett announced to the room at large "he is one of our most distinguished graduates. He's programmed the Kobayashi Maru exam for the last four years. Commander" he gestured to the floor and Spock nodded in acknowledgement before turning to address Jim.

"Cadet Kirk, you somehow managed to hack through Cadet Layla Pike's firewall and install and activate a subroutine in the programming code, thereby changing the conditions of the test"

_Oh crap…no wonder she's pissed…_

Jim gulped as he felt a familiar prickling on the back of his neck which he was sure was being made by two laser like icy eyes glaring down at him from a certain young woman's seat.

But he was quick to toss that into the back of his mind as he turned to face Spock with raised eyebrows.

"Your point being?"

Admiral Barnett frowned at him sternly.

"In academic vernacular you cheated"

There were murmurs from amongst most of the cadets. Layla indeed could hear Leonard grumbling under his breath beside her.

"Godammit man"

But Jim was not deterred as he bristled stiffly in his spot, his eyes blazing with affronted determination.

"Let me ask you something I think we all know the answer to. The test itself is a cheat isn't it? I mean you programmed it to be unwinnable"

At this Spock quirked an eyebrow.

"Your argument precludes the possibility of a no-win scenario"

"Yeah well I don't believe in no-win scenarios"

"Then not only did you violate the rules but you also failed to understand the principle lesson."

"Please enlighten me" Jim smirked derisively and the vulcan's eyebrows now both rose.

"You of all people should know Cadet Kirk. A Captain cannot cheat death"

_Ouch…_

Again more mumbling from the other cadets in the room. Even the admiral's were looking uncomfortable. Layla and Leonard both exchanged worried looks as they saw Jim's back stiffen and his eyes suddenly grow cold as he clipped.

"I of all people?"

At this Spock nodded, his expression still neutral. However if one were close enough to him they would've been able to see the smallest traces of triumph glimmer in his dark eyes as he made to continue his point.

"Your father, Lieutenant George Kirk, assumed command of his vessel before being killed in action did he not?"

"I don't think you like the fact that I beat your test-" Jim started to say but Spock just steamrolled over him.

"Furthermore, you have failed to divine the purpose of the test"

"Please enlighten me again" Jim snapped with a glower and grit teeth.

"The purpose is to experience fear" Spock eyed the cadet before him calmly and impassively "Fear in the face of certain death. To accept that fear and maintain control of oneself and one's crew. This is a quality expected of every Starfleet Captain."

There was silence in the entire hall as everyone digested the commander's words.

Jim himself had to admit that for all his stiff rules and regulations attitude…the Vulcan had a very point. Not that it helped with his now rather pissed off angry mood.

He opened his mouth to speak but at that precise moment a senior security officer stepped in through a side door to Spock's left.

"Excuse me sir." He mumbled as he crossed quickly over to Admiral Barnett, a PADD held out tightly in his hands.

The admiral took it calmly but as soon as he saw the message on the device his face paled ominously. After taking a quick cough he once more addressed the room at large.

"We've received a distress call from Vulcan. With our primary fleet engaged in the Laurentian system, I hereby order all cadets to report to Hangar One immediately. Dismissed"

There was the scraping of boots on wood and the quick shuffling of material as all people in the assembly hall, admirals, senior officers and cadets all made to spring to their feet and dash out of the room as quickly as possible.

Even Commander Spock was in a rush to leave, not even sparing a moments glance back to Jim who glowered hard at the back of his neat dark head of hair.

"Who was that pointy eared bastard?" he grunted as Leonard came up to his side.

"I don't know, but I like him" the old doctor spoke with faint admiration. Though Jim was his friend he did have to admit that it was difficult for many people (himself included) to keep verbally on par with the younger man when he was on a roll. For a complete stranger to do it in two seconds flat was extremely uncanny…like Layla Pike's almost supernatural ability to disappear from sight in less than two seconds flat.

Had Jim not been so pissed off he could've cracked up at the aggravated curse his friend had just released.

"Ah Goddamnit. She was just behind me a second a go!"

* * *

_Oh shit! Oh shit-shit-shit-shit-shit! We're actually doing this! we're actually going to go on a real first assignment! Ahg! God am I still feeling the effects of that drug? No of course not or else you wouldn't' be here dunderhead! Oh-my-god! Oh-my-god! Oh-my-god!_

Layla Serena Pike was so excited as she made to stand in line alongside her dorm mate Kenina Brand, that she was barely managing to restrain herself from literally bouncing up and down in her spot where she stood.

She glanced around at her other fellow cadets as a grey suited commander made to step before the group of twenty with a PADD in his hands.

"Avery, U.S.S Hood, Brand, U.S.S. Enterprise…"

Layla bit her lip as the alphabetically arranged list was sifted though finally landing on the M section.

_OH man…almost there…please be Enterprise! Please be Enterprise!_

"McCoy U.S.S Enterprise."

_Oh crap…_

Layla gulped as she quickly turned her head and saw to her horror Leonard and Jim both standing right behind her, the former giving her a very hard very irritable glare.

"Sorry" she mouthed sheepishly trying her best to give her most innocent puppy eyes but the doctor was not moved for one instant.

"I swear you little tiger-shrimp if we get through this alive, I will lock you down to the bio bed for a week with only lousy soup to eat"

"I'd stun your ass before you'd even be able to try" Layla rolled her eyes, all pretence at innocence gone. She was surprised to find that Jim was silent at the exchange. However before she could open her mouth to speak to him her name was called.

"Pike-" her head whipped about as she held her breath "-U.S.S. Enterprise"

"Yes!" she hissed victoriously and gave a wide grin back to her two friends. Leonard, rolled his eyes but still smirked with amusement. Jim on the other hand was doing his best to hold his nerves together as he listened and waited for the next name…but…

"Rader, U.S.S. Hood. Welcome to Starfleet and Godspeed"

There was a loud clack as the commanding officer before them gave a small salute before striding off to check a console.

"He didn't call my name" Jim growled as the other cadets about him, Leonard and Layla suddenly strode off to their designated shuttles.

"Maybe you're on another list" Layla suggested hopefully but already the young cadet was striding over to the senior officer that had just left them.

"Commander! Sir, you didn't call my name. Kirk, James T. ?"

"Kirk you're on academic suspension." The commander didn't even look up from his work at the console as he spoke in a strict, almost robotic manner "That means you're grounded until the Academy Board rules."

Layla's heart sank in her chest as she saw the light in the blue eyes of Jim Kirk suddenly dim down to a dead blank look.

Leonard too noticed this and quickly stepped forwards to mutter.

"Jim the board will rule in your favour…most likely."

But Jim only nodded down at his shoes.

"Jim…" Layla bit her lip but Jim just shrugged her off with a very wide, very fake smile.

"Yeah, yeah I know….You should both get going before they…" he trailed off as he gestured to the shuttles about them.

"but-" Layla started, but Jim just put his hand on her shoulder.

"Lay, I'll be fine. You just stay safe ok? And come back and tell me all about it" and before she could say another word he strode off down the length of the hangar bay.

Layla sighed heavily as she watched his blonde head slowly but surely meander its way amongst the crowd. What was once a confident swagger slash strut was now just a small broken shuffle.

Leonard also noticed this but his face was set in a frown.

"Leo?" Layla gulped as the doctor quickly looked down on her with a quizzical look.

"Layla…what was the Starfleet medical code, Regulation 120"

"Regulation 120? But that's just: The transport of a patient is to be performed at the discretion of the attending physici-"

She paused and looked up at Leonard with wide eyes.

"Leo…"

"What?!" the doctor bristled. "You and Jim aren't the only ones who can bend the rules. Besides would you rather leave him behind like a kicked puppy?"

Layla's face split into a wide smile.

"Leonard McCoy you are one sneaky old dog!"

* * *

 


	7. Bridging the Gaps

Space…a vacuum of black silent emptiness dotted with twinkling points of light. It was a space that for thousands of years had fascinated and awed the humans of Earth. It had been the source for myths, a makeshift compass for maps but most importantly of all it was the inspiration for some of the greatest endeavours that small blue and green planet had ever seen.

One such journey was starting right at that moment though James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk was completely unaware of it.

He was too busy trying to keep himself from throwing up.

"I may throw up on you" he glared sidelong at the figures of Leonard and Layla, the former of whom was rolling his eyes whilst the latter gazed avidly out the shuttle window beside her.

"Jim" She whispered in awe tugging at her blonde friends' clammy sweaty hand. "Jim! You really have to see this it's incredible"

"What?" Jim grunted as he leaned over to peer out the window with his blurred eyes only for his breath to catch in his throat. "whoa…"

There in the distance was a massive round structure gleaming brightly in the light of the distant but very bright yellow sun. It was far bigger than the city on earth they had just left. It was so large in fact that the shuttles that flew around it looked as small as tiny ants next to a house.

But none of the cadet's faces were focused on the base. All their eyes were only focused on one of the base's large transverse arms where a starship was docked securely waiting for them as they sped towards it.

She was a magnificent ship. Her metal sheeting was a gleaming ivory grey that made her markings on her disk-like main hull starkly stand out even from a distance.

_U.S.S. ENTERPRISE NCC-1701_

"Now that's what I call a beauty" Layla whistled under her breath and McCoy hummed in agreement. Jim just gave a small nod afraid that if he opened his mouth he'd let loose chunks.

_Throwing up over the new upholstery? Well that would be one hell of a way to christen a ship_

Jim remained silent as the shuttle docked in the ships shuttle bay, doing his best to keep on his legs as he was dragged out by Leonard, away from the platform and into the engineering portion of the ship.

Layla followed them looking around with intrigue and excitement in spite of her friend's predicament.

Everyone was bustling about them as they tried to find their way to their stations. Friends were talking in soft hushed tones whilst commanding officers made to call out orders loudly over the hubbub. One of them caught her attention at once, a tall strongly built man with greying black hair and a stern dark eyes that fixed on her within two seconds flat.

"Oh crap…"

"Who's that?" Leonard muttered as he eyed the man up and down.

"Lieutenant Commander Giotto, Chief of Security" Layla hissed, wincing as said senior officer barked loudly in her direction.

"Pike! Come here!"

"Just a moment sir! Go-go-go I'll find you as soon as I can!" she hissed the last bit at her two friends with shooing motions before dashing off towards the man.

Layla gulped as she spared both her friends one last fleeting look over her shoulder. She snorted as she saw Jim squinting to see where she was as Leonard rolled his eyes and roughly dragged him off.

"Ahem!" someone coughed and with a deep breath she turned to face her commanding officer stiffly.

"What seems to be the problem sir?"

"The problem is that my new deputy chief needs to get changed" Giotto roughly jerked his thumb over his shoulder to a doorway where other female cadets were quickly darting through.

Layla's eyes however were fixed on his face, wide and shocked.

"Deputy?"

"Yes" Giotto grunted, folding his arms with a scowl. "So get a move on quickly  _Lieutenant_  Pike! You're up first on the alpha shift on the bridge with Captain Pike"

Layla could've almost hugged the man she was so happy and it took a lot of effort on her part to refrain from doing so.

_Deputy Chief of Security! Deputy F-ing Chief of F-ing Security! And on Alpha shift too! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT! HOLY SHIT!_

Lieutenant Commander Giotto smirked and shook his head as the younger girl before him gave a vigorous nod before dashing off towards the change rooms not even bothering to restrain the loud victorious whoop for joy as she bounded through the automatic doors.

* * *

"Are we there yet?" Jim grunted as he looked about their surroundings in a daze. Thanks to whatever godforsaken concoction his doctor friend had injected into his system, his vision was now so blurred that he could barely see a thing.

"Nearly but first let's go get you changed." Leonard grumbled.

It had been ten minutes and they were still in the Enterprise's Engineering bays. Leonard McCoy sighed heavily as he did his best to doing his best to manoeuvre himself and a now very sick Jim Kirk as sneakily as he could through the crowd of crew members.

"I don't feel right. I feel like I'm leaking-" Jim whined as he stumbled on his feet as unstably as a newborn gazelle.

"Hell, it's that pointy-eared bastard" Leonard grumbled darkly as he saw a familiar tall emotionless figure of Commander Spock dressed in Sciences Blue, stride in their direction.

Thankfully he didn't notice them as they suspiciously ducked out of sight, for his eyes were focused solely on the PADD in his hands as he strode into the turbo lift to his left.

"Wait!" a voice called and Spock looked up quickly to see a short and petite young woman dash into the lift space beside him. She was wearing the long-sleeved operations red shirt with tight fitted but flexible black pants tucked into knee high black combat boots. Her face was pale with icy blue eyes that frowned as she concentrated on tying back her long black hair into a messy but functional single side plait.

"Miss Pike" Spock quirked an eyebrow and Layla nodded.

"Commander Spock" Layla grunted as she took the hair tie from her mouth and wrapped it about the ends of the braid.

"I expect Lieutenant Commander Giotto has informed you of your duties?"

"Yes and I've also sent both the personnel and engineering reports to your station aboard the bridge-sir" she added quickly.

"Thank you Lieutenant" he bobbed his head courteously noticing the single silver band over the girl's wrist as the lift came to a stop and the doors opened.

When Layla had first seen the outside of the Enterprise she'd thought she'd faint. Now she saw the bridge she thought she might just have a heart attack.

Every surface on the bridge was immaculately clean, all consoles polished, monitor's buzzing with life and awaiting their designated officers who were all currently mulling around doing their best to familiarise themselves with their surroundings.

Layla internally squealed as she skipped out of the lift and away from Spock towards the Operations Weapons console that sat right in front of the navigator's and helmsman's seats in which two young men in Command gold were seated, talking to one another and fiddling with their controls.

Layla grinned as she recognised a distinctive Russian accent coming from a head of curly brown head of hair that sat in the navigator's chair

"So I guess this is it…. On our first mission…"

"I know" the dark haired man that sat in the helmsman's chair gulped.

Layla's grin widened as she stepped forwards so that her shadow fell over them.

"Nervous boys?"

Both men jumped in their seats as they wheeled about to face her.

"Oh iz just you mizz Pike" the curly haired navigator, Pavel Chekov, smiled with relief as the Asian man, Hikaru Sulu sighed heavily before addressing her.

"Not wearing the skirt."

"Nah! Too short" Layla snorted as she leaned over to inspect the console. "Everything working ok?"

"Ok? She's perfect" Sulu smirked as he gestured to all his controls.

"Vell ov course, she iz the newest ship in ze fleet" Chekov's grin was excitable even as he two made to turn back to his console, his gaze fixed avidly on the large bridge front viewing window.

Layla looked out it too and couldn't help but smile as she caught sight of the big expanse of empty blackness dotted with tiny points of light that stretched out before them into infinity.

_Well…this is it…we're finally going to do this…_

She jumped as the familiar voice of a man made to call out from her side.

"Mr Spock."

Layla's head snapped round just in time to see her father's greying head of hair as he stepped in from the Captain's ready room.

He hadn't noticed her yet for he was striding past the science station where the Vulcan commander swiftly proceeded to answer his unasked query.

"All Engineering reports ready for launch"

"Thank you" Christopher Pike nodded, smirking widely as he finally caught sight of his daughter standing before the captain's chair.

"Lieutenant" he nodded.

"Dad-I-I mean Captain" Layla coughed doing her best to keep her face as professionally neutral as possible. However she could not prevent the corners of her lips from quirking upwards even as he made to stand next to her and look out the front view window.

"Nervous?" Christopher muttered softly.

"A little" Layla admitted with a small gulp.

Christopher's smile only warmed with pride.

"You'll do fine. Now off to your console, captain's orders" he added the last bit with a small grin as he gently made to pat her back.

"Yes sir" Layla gave a playful two fingered salute before quickly dashing off to a console based just to the left of the navigation station at the front of the bridge.

She hissed happily as she assessed the entirety of the weapons subsystem's checkout station. Everything was in place, new and shiny. Her fingers were itching with anticipation as she made to check all weapons systems, which as expected were spick and span and ready to go.

She turned back to the captain's chair as her father made to speak again this time to the whole bridge crew.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the maiden voyage of our newest flagship deserves more pomp and circumstance than we can afford today. Her christening will just have to be our reward for a safe return. Carry on."

He quickly pressed a button on the arm of the captain's chair.

"All decks this is Captain Pike, prepare for immediate departure. Helm thrusters" he added nodding to Sulu who at once began to fiddle at his station.

"Moorings retracted, Captain. Dock Control reports ready. Thrusters fired. Separating from space-dock."

"Set a course for Vulcan."

"Aye-aye Captain. Course laid in."

Layla watched with bated breath as the image in the large bridge window began to change as the Enterprise began to turn. The ships movements were as smooth as silk and it was with no difficulties that its new helmsman to manoeuvre it into position alongside all the other ships.

Once it was set in place Christopher Pike's eyes hardened on the empty mass of space before their eyes.

"Maximum Warp. Punch it"

Layla bit her lip as she saw, as if in slow motion, Sulu's hand push down on a silver lever set before his left hand.

There was a hum as the whole ship seemed to buzz with energy and then…

There were several flashes of blue lights before them as the rest of the fleet before them disappeared into the dark void of space in a blip as the Enterprise just…stayed still?

There was silence as everyone turned to look at Sulu blankly.

"Lieutenant" Christopher's voice was tense as he frowned down from the captain's chair. "Where is Helmsman McKenna?"

"He has lungworms sir. He couldn't report to his post. I'm Hikaru Sulu" Layla bit her lip nervously as she saw a bead of sweat begin to form on her friend's brow as her father gave him a shrewd calculating look.

"And you are a pilot right?"

"Very much so sir" Sulu gulped as he quickly began to check every single setting at his console. "I'm not sure what's wrong here?"

"Is the parking brake on?" Christopher remarked dryly.

"Uh…no" Sulu shook his head nervously "I'll figure it out I'm just-"

"Have you disengaged the external inertial dampener?" Spock quickly cut across him from the sciences station.

Layla exchanged a small sympathetic glance with Chekov as Sulu sighed heavily, his fingers quickly making to press a couple of buttons which resulted in a very positive beep from the machine in front of him.

"Ready for warp sir" he announced again to the bridge, though unlike the first time he sounded a lot more deflated even as Christopher made to smirk with amusement.

"Let's punch it"

And once more Sulu made to push the lever forwards.

Layla gripped at her seat hard as suddenly the whole ship seemed to jerk gently forwards, sucked into warp speed and deep into the vacuum of space.

* * *

Jim Kirk was wandering in the darkness between sleep and the waking world when an odd voice of a young man entered his brain.

"May I have your attention please? At twenty-two hundred hours, telementary detected an anomaly in the Neutral Zone. What appeared to be a lightning storm in space. Soon after, Starfleet received a distress signal from Vwulcan High Command that their planet was experiencing seismic activity. Our mission is to assess the condition of Wulcan, and to assist in evwacuations if necessary. We should be arriving at Wulcan within three minutes. Thank you for your time."

_Lightning Storm…_

Jim frowned, vaguely aware that his face was moving even though his eyes were shut.

_Lightning storm…why does that sound familiar…Lightning storm in space?_

Then suddenly out of nowhere images started popping up in his brain of documents, words, pictures, news headlines…dissertations…

Dissertations?

_Of course…how could I have been so slow?_

"Lightning Storm!" he spluttered eyes flying open as he jerked straight up to sit. He was sitting on what appeared to be a medical bio bed. Around him medical staff dressed either in sciences blue or in sterilised white clothing walked about, checking supplies and equipment settings and even some sick crew members.

"Ah Jim you're awake. How do you feel?" Leonard's voice called out as the doctor made to stride across the room from an office with a PADD in hand. However when he caught sight of his patient/friend seated on the bio bed his eyes widened with panic.

"Good God man."

"What?" Jim blinked quickly checking himself over only to cry out in absolute horror.

His hands were about the size of two small balloons each, the fingers each as fat as sausages in a New York hot dog.

"What the hell is this?" he yelped, not caring how surprisingly girlish and high his voice had gone in his terror as he tried to move his fingers, only to find that even his top digits could barely bend one millimetre.

"A reaction to the vaccine damn it! Nurse Chapel I need about 50 cc's of Cortisone" Leonard barked at a blonde nurse that was checking over a nearby table. At the sound of the gruff doctor's voice she quickly snapped to attention and began to fill up a large hypo-spray with the required drug.

Jim however didn't care. The thought he had struck was now once more replaying over in his mind. In an almost blind panic he dashed over to the nearest console and began slamming his giant swollen fingers against the replay button for the last transmission.

The face of a curly haired young man appeared on the screen speaking as clearly as he could with that same strange accent that Jim had heard in his dream.

"May I have your attention- Telemetry detected- appeared to be a lightning storm in space-Lightning storm in space-in space – seismic activity-" the language ended up garbled slightly as Jim kept rewinding and fast forwarding the message so that he got the main words.

"Hey!" Leonard yelled as he tried to grab hold of his patient only for his patient to grab hold of him with swollen hands and steamroll over him in a breathless voice.

"Bones we gotta stop the ship!"

* * *

"Sir! Sir! We have news"

"Yes Lieutenant?"

"Sir we've just received a report that Cadet Pike has boarded the Enterprise"

"WHAT?! When did this happen?"

"Just an hour or so ago sir. She is currently én route to assist in the evacuation of Vulcan"

"VULCAN?! You imbicile! I told you to keep an eye on that brat! Didn't I specifically say that under no circumstances was she to be allowed to ever leave Earth! Why wasn't she stopped at the shuttle bay?"

"I'm afraid I don't know sir. Our agents did their best to locate her but she slipped right past us. She along with that Cadet Kirk. But by the time we found out about where they were, the shuttle was already docking into the Enterprise at Starbase 1"

"The Enterprise? SHIT!"

"Sir?"

"Don't sir me you ass! This is a disaster! Neither of those two were ever supposed to get on that ship! Never! And now everything will be ruined."

"Sir-"

"get out"

"-but-"

"GET OUT!"

* * *

"Jim! I'm not kidding we need to keep your heart rate down!" Leonard McCoy yelled loudly startling several officers in the corridor as he sped down it carrying a white medical case in his hands.

Just ahead of him, Jim Kirk had skidded to a full stop at another computer station and was calling out into the machine loudly. "Computer locate crew member Layla Pike"

"Lieutenant Pike is on the bridge would you like to communicate with her now?" the cool digital voice of a computer responded calmly even as Jim made to snarl at it.

"yes goddamnit!"

"Contacting Lieutenant Pike"

There were a series of three computerised beeps and then suddenly Layla's pale face appeared on the screen frowning in confusion.

"Jim" she hissed as soon as she saw her friend's panicked face. "Jim what are you doing? You're supposed to be in med bay"

"I know Layla but this is important. Listen you have to tell your dad to stop the-"

"Layla? Who are you talking to?"

Jim froze and Layla's face turned the colour of parchment as she gulped over her shoulder.

"Uh…no one dad-I mean Captain" Layla gulped over her shoulder before quickly whispering back to the screen. "Jim I'm sorry ok but I'll have to call you later when I'm off my shift. Ok? Bye"

"Layla!" Jim cried out but too late. The connection was already dead.

"Jesus Christ! Computer locate crew member Uhura" he growled hammering away at the computer once more just as Leonard finally came level with him.

"You know I haven't seen such a severe reaction like this since med school" the doctor grunted, but Jim paid him no heed as he made to nearly fly away from the console.

"We're flying into a trap!"

"Damn it Jim stand still!"

"OW! STOP IT!" Jim cried out as the doctor caught up with him and jabbed a hypospray into his neck.

Leonard just scowled at him, an expression that only deepened as the young man quickly made to dash off once more, this time weaving his way amongst several seated red shirted Communications officers.

Jim's eyes were wide even as he made to peer at all the stations, searching desperately for the dark long ponytail that belonged to the woman just at the-

"UHURA!"

Uhura looked up quickly just in time to see Kirk nearly hurtle headlong into her station.

"Kirk what are you doing here?" she cried out jumping to her feet but already Jim was hurtling on ahead with his question.

"The transmission from the Klingon prison planet. What exactly-"

"Oh my god! What's wrong with your hands?" Uhura recoiled in horror as she caught sight of the swollen limbs.

Jim just shook his head. He'd explain to her later. He'd probably look like an idiot again but still. Later.

"No its-just look! Who is responsible for the Klingon attack? And was the ship womuwown?" he trailed off as his words slurred horribly.

"Was the ship what?" Uhura frowned in confusion and Jim's eyes widened.

"What's happening with my mouth?" he frowned back at Leonard who had come up behind him with a tricorder and began to examine him.

At the sound of the slurred tongue the doctor's face paled.

"You got numb tongue?"

"Nomb tong?" Jim replied his voice thick as his tongue almost went completely slack.

"I can fix that"

"Was the ship what?" Uhura asked desperately, doing her best not to reach out and strangle Jim before her for his interruption of her work.

"Womulon"

"what?"

"Rowmulan" Jim slowed down his words and was pleased to see the linguist follow his lip pattern with her own mouth.

"Romulan?! YES! Yes it was!" she nodded vigorously.

Jim could have almost kissed her had it not been for the fact his mouth felt as numb as an ice cube and that Leonard had just jabbed another hypo-spray into his neck.

"Ah-ah! Damn it!"

* * *

There were looks of stunned surprise as Jim Kirk, Nyota Uhura and Leonard McCoy all dashed onto the Enterprise's bridge.

Everything before had been calm with only the slightest amount of tension, though that was mostly from nerves of a new crew as they accustomed themselves to their new ship.

Layla Pike herself had just been checking out the calibration of the beam array from her station when her three closest academy friends ran helter skelter with Jim bringing up the front of the charge bellowing loudly over the other two

"Captain Pike we have to stop the ship!"

"Kirk how the hell did you get on board the Enterprise?!" Captain Christopher Pike barked as he stood up from his Captain's chair.

Layla gulped as she saw that his eyes were the stoniest she had ever seen them and was glad she wasn't on the receiving end like Jim and Leonard currently were.

It was the latter who spoke first to the captain barely managing to retain his terror behind a professional doctor's bedside manner.

"Captain, this man's under the influence of a severe reaction to a vaccine"

"Bone's please-"

"He's completely delusional and I will take full responsibility-"

"Vulcan is not experiencing a natural disaster. It's being attacked by Romulans!" Jim boomed over the voice of the doctor.

There was a very pregnant, very awkward pause in which Layla swore she could hear a cricket chirping loudly even as she stood up in her seat.

"…come again? Romulans?"

But Christopher was not impressed even as he glared sternly down at the younger man before him.

"Cadet Kirk, I think you've had enough attention for one day. McCoy take him back to medical, we'll have words later. Layla you escort them both and see if you can knock some sense into your  _friend_!"

He turned his gaze upon his daughter who quickly averted her eyes down to the ground and nodded.

"Aye Captain. Come on Jim." She added in an undertone as she made to grab his arm but Jim brushed her off and strode up to the Captain.

"Look sir, that same anomaly that we saw today-"

"Mr Kirk is not cleared to be aboard this vessel Captain" the emotionless voice of Spock piped in as he strode in from his station to stand in-between the two men.

Jim just rolled his eyes at the newcomer with obvious disdain.

"Look I get it. You're a great arguer-"

"By Regulations-"

"-I'd love to do it again"

"-that makes him a stowaway. I can remove the cadet-"

"Try it!" Jim growled over the top of the Vulcan "this cadet is trying to save the bridge!"

"By recommending a full stop mid-warp during a rescue mission?" Spock quirked an eyebrow as he straightened up to his fullest height

"It's  _not_  a rescue mission" Jim's eyes narrowed as he too straightened up so that he was chest to chest with the tall Vulcan "Listen to me it's an attack-"

"Based on what-"

"OH FOR F'S SAKE WILL THE TWO OF YOU JUST SHUT THE F- UP FOR ONE GODDAMN MOMENT!"

Both Jim's and Spock's mouths shut at once as Layla stormed her way over to the pair of them her icy eyes flaring even as she made to wrench the two of them apart muttering darkly under her breath.

"Men and their stupid egos!"

Christopher just watched on with his eyebrows raised in surprise as the short petite girl suddenly turned on Jim, pointing a finger up at him when he opened his mouth to complain.

"No James Tiberius Kirk! Either you step down from the commander and explain yourself or else it's the brig for you!"

Had the other officers aboard the bridge not been so terrified by the young woman's snarling face they might have been awed by the fact that Jim somehow managed to keep a calm neutral face.

But they weren't seeing what he was seeing.

Layla was angry. By the high heavens she was. But Jim could also see that she was worried, not just because of him being found out, but because she had understood his words. She knew him when he lied or made up yarns, could tell he was lying before he'd even told the lie. And now she knew better than anyone else in the room (besides Leonard) that Jim was definitely not lying.

"Jim…" she muttered softly so that only he, Spock and Christopher could hear. "Please…I don't want to lock you up down there…"

Jim nodded quietly before looking up at a still very stern faced, but now concerned Captain and the rest of an equally disconcerted crew.

"That same anomaly, a lightning storm in space that we saw today, also occurred on the day of my birth, before a Romulan ship attacked the U.S.S. Kelvin. You know that sir I read your dissertation. That ship which had formidable and advanced weaponry was never seen or heard from again. The Kelvin attack took place on the edge of Klingon space, and at twenty-three hundred hours last night there was an attack. Forty-seven Klingon warbirds destroyed by Romulans sir, and it was reported that the Romulans were in one ship, one massive ship"

"and you know of this Klingon attack how?" Christopher narrowed his eyes suspiciously but Jim only turned towards Uhura who started slightly at being suddenly the centre of attention as all eyes swivelled to her.

"Sir, I intercepted and translated the message myself. Kirk's report is accurate"

"But if that's true then won't the fleet be walking into a trap?" Layla's eyes widened as she looked at Kirk who nodded.

"Yeah and the Romulans are going to be the ones waiting for us I promise you that"

There was another small pause as everyone digested this news. It was almost absurd and yet…

"The cadet's logic is sound" Spock spoke up quietly with a nod towards a still frowning captain. "And lieutenant Uhura is unmatched in xenolinguistics it would be wise to accept her conclusion."

"Scan Vulcan space" Christopher shrewdly eyed the communications consoles "Check for any transmissions in Romulan"

But the red shirted male lieutenant at the station just shook his head in befuddlement.

"Sir I'm not sure I can distinguish the Romulan Language from Vulcan"

Christopher quickly turned to Uhura.

"What about you? Do you speak Romulan, Cadet?"

"Uhura. All three dialects" Uhura nodded uncertainly even as the Captain made to order.

"Uhura relieve the Lieutenant"

"Yes sir…"

There was a tense pause as the male Lieutenant gave Uhura a small but silent scathing glower before striding out towards the Bridge's turbo lift.

But no one paid him the slightest attention for the Captain was once more issuing orders in a hurry.

"Hannity, hail the U.S.S Truman."

"All the other ships are out of warp sir and have arrived at Vulcan but we seem to have lost all contact" A female Lieutenant announced as Uhura also checked over her new station's scanners.

"Sir, I pick up no Romulan transmission. Or transmission of any kind in the area"

"Not even a distress signal from the planet?" Layla asked quickly looking over her friends shoulder, but Uhura just shook her head.

"No, not even that."

"It's because they're being attacked" Jim stated.

Christopher paused for a moment, almost as if he were still taking all of this new information in. but as he spoke his voice was steady.

"Layla back to your station, ready the weapons and sound the red alert. Everyone else shields up and prepare yourselves."

"Yes sir!" came the collective call from all the junior officers.

Layla was quick to make her way back to her station, pressing the red alert button just in time to as Sulu's voice called out loudly over the wailing sirens and flashing red lights.

"Arrival at Vulcan in five seconds"

Jim turned to look at Leonard whose face was pale as death.

"-Four-"

He turned to Uhura at her station. She too was looking like she was about to faint.

"Three"

He turned to Layla whose entire body was so tense she looked like a bomb about to be set off even as her fingers hovered over her controls. She looked up at him and gave a pointed look to his hands. He nodded and had just about set them to grip on tight to the sides of two consoles.

"Two"

Jim quickly turned to the side and saw to his surprise, Spock standing close by, looking back at him with cool disdain even as the last number was announced loudly.

"ONE!"

There was a small jerk, as suddenly the whole ship was thrust out of warp…and into absolute chaos.


	8. Just Chute Me

Layla Serena Pike had not been one of the best students at high school…or rather at any high school she had tried to attend.

Her short temper and her sharp tongue often got her into arguments and fights with many people including her superiors. Her sometimes distant and stern disposition was also very disconcerting to strangers who had yet to talk to her. Her unusually superior physical strength had always been terrifying to even the toughest of bully's.

It seemed for a long time that she would never fit in anywhere or in any place save for home.

However three years following her joining of Starfleet had changed all that. Her peers, though suspicious of her at first, now admired her. Her tutors and lecturers acknowledged and encouraged her to be more ambitious with her goals. True she was one of the shortest and youngest of her year, and yes her personality had a few kinks that had yet to be worked out. But she was usually smart and level headed in stressful situations.

Or so she had been until the Enterprise had suddenly jerked out of warp and into a giant debris field over the planet of Vulcan.

_CRAP THIS IS NOT A DRILL! CRAP THIS IS ACTUALLY NOT A DRILL!_

She swore loudly as with wide eyed terror she began to press buttons on her station. Even though she knew by heart each and every one of the functions she had to perform in her course of duty, at the forefront of her brain only one sentence managed to compute.

_THIS IS REAL…ALL OF THIS IS REAL!_

She was not the only one who was thinking that.

"Emergency evasive" she faintly heard her father, Christopher Pike, bark from the captain's chair just as someone almost fell on top of her as they stumbled about the shaking bridge.

"Sorry kid" Leonard's gruff voice wheezed as he gripped hard onto the back of her chair as the ship jerked again. "Gah!"

"Hold on doc!" Layla leant back as hard as she could doing her best to keep herself stable as the entire ship tilted and veered only to come face to face with a looming large fragment of a ship.

"SULU! Bring her down NOW!" she called out to the helm where Sulu was busy trying to type in a command.

"Shit" he swore as he looked up and saw the giant piece of wreckage coming up fast in the bridge viewing window.

There was a small tug as the Enterprise suddenly dipped it's bow down into a steep dive. The disk of the hull just about made it under the giant chunk of space debris, however…

"Captain! we've got damage to one of the aft…nacelles…" a tactical officer beside Layla shouted only for his voice to fall away.

He was not the only one.

The Enterprise had temporarily entered a small clear section of the space above Vulcan and now the entire bridge could see through the large window before them…one massive ship.

It was nothing like any ship any of them had ever seen before. It looked rather like a gigantic mutated jellyfish. It was dark in colour and gargantuan in size, easily dwarfing the silver constitution class starship several times over.

There was a beeping sound and Layla turned quickly back to her screen to see a message that made her face go paler than chalk.

"Dad they're locking torpedoes on us!" She bleated, not caring for protocol or the fact that her voice was shaking.

"Divert auxiliary power from port nacelles to forward shields" Christopher called out his hands gripping hard onto the arms of the captain's chair. "Sulu status report."

"Shields at 32 per cent" Sulu called his brow drenched with sweat as his fingers flew over his console just as the bridge shook violently. "Their weapons are powerful sir we can't take another hit like that"

"Get me Starfleet Command" Christopher looked to the Communications stations just as Spock made to call loudly from his position in Sciences.

"Captain, the Romulan ship has lowered some kind of high-energy pulse device into the Vulcan atmosphere. It's signal appears to be blocking our communications and transporter abilities."

"All power to forward shields. Prepare to fire all weapons" Christopher yelled to the tactical and combat stations who all, Layla included, immediately began to issue out commands through their station to their respective crew members on duty in different sections of the ship.

"Ensign Hanson status report" Layla gulped to the crewmember beside her as the ship shuddered again.

"We're ready to fire" Ensign Hanson nodded and Layla quickly called back to her father.

"Dad we're set to go"

"Right. Ready photon's prepare to fire on enemy ship on my count. Three…two…"

"Captain we're being hailed" Uhura steamrolled over the Captain jumping to her feet as the ship finally levelled out.

There was a short pause in which everyone held their breath as the bridge finally stopped shaking and shuddering.

The enemy's weapons were still locked onto their position, however there were no signs of anything being fired at them again…for now…

Layla was breathing heavily as she leaned forwards in her chair. She could faintly feel the chill behind her and looked back to see that Leonard was no longer there. in fact he was stumbling quickly out the door towards the turbo lift, swearing and cursing to himself fluidly as he swayed ominously.

She would've laughed at his almost seasick behaviour, but she could not.

She looked over the rest of the crew.

Most of them were in their seats all looking about as exhausted as she did. But Jim was still on his feet, straightening up just as he caught her eye.

She nodded to his unasked question just as Christopher made to speak to Uhura who was standing at her station, looking just as terrified as Layla felt.

"On screen"

Layla turned back to the bridge's large viewing window just in time to see an image appear on it, an image of a man's face.

He was pale, with a slightly green tinge and slightly pointed ears.

_A Romulan_

Layla frowned as she took in the tattoos on his bald head, however no matter how much she observed of the new face nothing could've prepared her for the words that left his mouth.

"Hello"

There were small confused glances between all officers now. Even the captain was looking perplexed, though he did his best to keep a straight face as he answered.

"I'm Captain Christopher Pike. To whom am I speaking?"

"Hi Christopher I'm Nero" the Romulan on the screen sneered.

His voice was so casual, but there was an edge to it that made Layla shudder unpleasantly. It was as if thousands of ants were crawling just under the surface of her skin even as she looked into the magnified dark glassy eyes that were assessing their captain with smug disdain as the latter made to speak once more.

"You've declared war against the Federation. Withdraw and I'll agree to arrange a conference with Romulan leadership at a neutral location-"

"I do not speak for the Empire" Nero's eyes narrowed severely "We stand apart. As does your Vulcan crewmember isn't that right,  _Spock_?"

There was silence as all heads turned to see the Vulcan Commander stand to his feet rigidly to address the screen before him, his face blank save for one quirked eyebrow to voice his own confusion.

"Pardon me but I do not believe you and I are acquainted."

"No we are not…not yet…" the corners of Nero's mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly into a smirk. "Spock, there's something I would like you to see. Captain Pike" Nero now turned towards Christopher his eyes glinting with undisguised malice "Your transporter has been disabled. As you can see by the rest of your armada, you have no choice. You will man a shuttle and come aboard the Narada for negotiations. That's all"

"And what if he doesn't" Layla jumped up to her feet before she or anyone else could stop her.

"Then you can take his place. If you're so eager" Nero smirked with cold amusement as he looked the young girl up and down before turning back to Christopher. He was so pale Layla thought he would faint even as he spared her a stern glare before facing the Romulan once more

"I must commend you Captain Pike, you've got such a loyal crew. That's a very difficult thing for any good captain to find." Nero's sneer widened victoriously. "So if you do value them as much as they value you, you will comply with my requests. That is all"

Everyone watched with bated breath as the screen suddenly flickered off so that only a window into the decimated space battle field was left.

Christopher however was already getting out of his seat quietly, his face stern, worried but thoughtful all the same.

Layla knew that look all too well but it did nothing to alleviate the dread mounting within her.

"You're going to go" she breathed.

"Yes" Christopher muttered only for her to stride up to him and block his path, her eyes bright as she glowered up at him.

"Even though you know for a fact that he may kill you or worse?"

"Your survival is unlikely" Spock piped in as he stepped forwards to be level with the two Pike's, just as Jim made to frown.

"Captain we gain nothing by diplomacy. Going over to that ship is a mistake"

"I too agree." Spock nodded "you should rethink your strategy"

But even as Layla watched Christopher she felt her stomach drop to her feet. There was no way her father was backing down this time.

"I understand that." he paused his eyes steely as he looked to everyone else on the bridge "I need officers who've been trained in advanced hand to hand combat"

"I have training sir" Sulu nodded calmly as he put his hand up.

"As do I" Layla nodded.

Christopher opened his mouth to refuse but upon catching her rather fierce icy defiant glare, he shut it hastily and nodded. It was no use, he knew, to sway her from her decisions once she'd made them. Maybe they weren't related by blood but he certainly had passed on his own stubbornness when raising her, not that he was too happy about it himself.

"Fine. Come with me. Kirk you too" he added towards Jim with a snort "You're not supposed to be here anyway. Mr Chekov you have the conn"

"Aye-aye Captain" Chekov mumbled softly, his eyes wide and slightly bewildered as he watched the captain, the three officers and the stowaway walk off the bridge and into the turbo lift, which shut at once, leaving behind a very stunned bridge crew.

As soon as the doors to the lift were shut Christopher turned his head down to narrow his eyes at his daughter. Spock, Jim, and Sulu all tactfully averted their gazes though the latter two couldn't help but gulp when their captain made to hiss softly.

"What were you thinking? Revealing yourself to the enemy like that?"

"And what were  _you_  thinking when you chose to  _negotiate_ with a madman" Layla spat back.

"I'm the captain of this ship Layla" Christopher growled softly "It's my job to protect my crew in a way that minimises the losses."

"Oh yes and sending the head of the entire ship to the slaughterhouse is a great way to minimise losses" Layla rolled her eyes.

"Take that tone of voice again with me young lady and you will be ground-."

"Uh…Captain Pike" Sulu gulped only to flinch as both Layla and Christopher snapped back at him.

"What?"

"The…the lift" Sulu pointed towards the lift doors and both Pike's turned to see that they were open and ready to go.

"We'll finish this discussion later." Christopher sighed heavily before striding out into an Engineering corridor of the ships lower hull. Layla followed behind in a huff as Spock, Jim and Sulu came up level with her just in time to hear her father yell:

"Without transporters we can't beam off the ship. We can't assist Vulcan, we can't do our job. Layla, Mr. Kirk, Mr Sulu, Engineer Olson, will space jump from the shuttle. you will land on the machine they've lowered into the atmosphere that's scrambling our gear. You'll get inside, you'll disable it, then you'll beam back to the ship. Mr Spock, I'm leaving you in command of the Enterprise. Once we have transport capability and communications back up you'll contact Starfleet and report what the hell's going on here. And if all else fails fall back and rendezvous with the fleet in the Laurentian system. Kirk I'm promoting you to first officer"

He added as he stepped in front of another turbo lift and typed in a command into the console before him.

"Captain?" Spock's eyebrow was quirked upwards so high that even a very disgruntled Layla was tempted to laugh. "Please I apologise but the complexities of human pranks escape me"

"It's not a prank Spock." Christopher smirked with faint amusement "and I'm not the Captain, you are"

Spock stayed still as Layla, Sulu and Jim all followed Christopher into the lift, the lattermost asking quietly:

"Sir after we knock out that drill what happens to you?"

"Well I guess you'll have to come and get me. Careful with the ship Spock she's brand new" Christopher replied calmly as the doors shut and Layla snorted softly under her breath.

"When you get back mom's so going to kill you"

"Shuttle 89, U.S.S. Enterprise you are clear forward"

"Wow you actually found a midget suit-ow!" Jim winced as Layla's smaller hand reached up to wrap him hard over the back of his head as she, Sulu and Jim followed their captain into the shuttle and sat down in the back section of the craft.

"It's not midget just petite" she growled as she made to adjust the red EV suit's belt over her waist, much to Engineer Olsen's amusement.

"You got the charges?" she turned an imperious eye to the Engineer beside her who was also decked out in Operations Red.

He was a tall man, with short dark hair and eyes and a distinct British accent that was almost shaking with excitement as he replied:

"Oh yeah! I can't wait to kick some Romulan arse right?"

"uh…yeah" Jim nodded before quickly exchanging an uncertain glance with Sulu at his other side.

"So…what kind of combat training do you have?"

"Fencing" Sulu responded breathlessly

"Don't worry Jim he's good at it" Layla grunted as she adjusted her helmet over her head just as her father at the front made to manoeuvre the shuttle through the hangar bay doors out into space.

There was a shared moment of silence as the occupants of the shuttle all took a moment to gaze nervously at the looming figure of the Enemy's ship in the distance.

It looked even more frightening up close.

"Pre jump" Christopher yelled from the cockpit of the shuttle and at once all four officers behind him quickly made to shove on their helmets onto their heads.

They were each decked out in Environmental Suits of the different division colours; Olsen in Operations Red, Sulu in Command Gold and Jim in Sciences Blue and Layla in the Stealth-Operations Black.

"Gentlemen, we're approaching the drop zone-" Christopher spoke up through a microphone just as the doors between the cockpit and the main hull of the shuttle were shut airlock tight with a small clang.

Everyone stood up and took their spots at the handles above their heads, or rather all the men did whilst Layla had to jump up to actually reach the damn metal rod.

"-We have one shot to land on that platform. They may have defences so pull your chute as late as possible. Three. Two. One"

She barely heard her father's words as she suddenly felt the chamber around her and her friends depressurize, and the zero gravity painfully push them backwards flush against the shuttle ceiling.

"Remember the Enterprise won't be able to beam you back until you turn off that drill…Good Luck…"

There was a click and the grinding of metal and suddenly the floor of the shuttle slid away leaving its four occupants to suddenly drop down to the red brown surface of the planet below.

Christopher watched them drop through the glass of his contained space in the cockpit, his eyes fixed solely on the small black figure that had been in-between a blur of blue and red.

"Stay safe…" he murmured softly.

The floor to the shuttle now shut…leaving it empty save for one Starfleet Captain all alone at the pilot's seat.

* * *

There was nothing but silence as Layla, Jim, Olsen and Sulu all fell down towards the surface of Vulcan.

Silence and emptiness, save for their breaths as they all did their best to calm their nerves and focus on streamlining their bodies.

As they fell Layla spared a glance down at the long huge metal tube that they was flying by them as they descended down further into the Planet's top layers of atmosphere. It oddly enough reminded her of a bizarre version of the Beanstalk from a fairy story her mother had once read to her as a small child. A magic beanstalk that reached up to a giant's castle.

_Well it's certainly big enough to be home to a giant_

She gulped as her mind thought back to the monstrous ship that was floating just above their bodies.

But she didn't have any more time to dwell on the topic, not when her body suddenly jolted as it finally passed through the top barrier of air that separated Vulcan's skies from Outer Space.

" _Avay team is entering the Atmosvere sir_ " She heard Chekov's heavy accent through the comm installed into her helmet. " _Twventy thousand metres_ "

Layla bit her lip as she faintly heard Sulu and Jim's deep breaths and Olsen's grunts through the comms and quickly looked about herself.

What she saw made her gut drop. She was already dropping further ahead of all three taller men as they fell towards what appeared to be a disk like platform that was rapidly growing larger and larger.

" _Approaching platform at fifty eight hundred metres_ " Chekov's voice informed them.

"Kirk to Enterprise. Distance to target five thousand metres" Jim grunted to the ensign.

" _Mizz Pike at Forty six hundred metres to platform_ " Chekov called out sounding slightly worried even as the four officers all began to fall faster and faster.

"Forty-five hundred metres to target"

"Three thousand metres! Three thousand metres!" Olson announced and Layla was astonished to see that he was grinning even as he passed her by on the drop.

"Twenty five hundred metres" Layla called her hands flying to her chute straps "Get ready to deploy chute in five, four, three, two, NOW!"

"Pulling chute" Sulu yelled loudly and at once chutes, one yellow, one blue and one black all expanded out of the hard packs on the back of three of the officer's suits. The red one however…

"Olson?!" Layla growled as she steadied out watching as the red figure of the Engineer zipped straight past her within a split second.

"Two thousand metres".

"Come on, pull your chute Olson!" Jim yelled but Olson only gave an excitable whoop.

"No! Not Yet! Not Yet! Fifteen hundred metres"

"Olson pull your chute" Now Sulu was yelling along with Layla and Jim as they watched as the Engineer cackled as he hit one thousand metres and finally tugged on his chute.

"NO!" Jim yelled as Olson's legs hit the metal platform…only to continue scraping along the surface and making him trip so that he was rolling over towards the edge of the disk.

"Olson hold on!" Sulu called out desperately but too late. Gravity and momentum were already at work dragging their victim over the edge only for his parachute be sucked into the large beam of hot plasma that the great mechanism was drilling down into the planet.

"OLSON!" Layla screeched as with one final cry of terror Olson followed his parachute's trajectory over the edge and into oblivion.

He was disintegrated in blazing heat before he'd even realised where he had fallen.

"Holy shit" Sulu breathed as he and his two remaining fellow officers descended down fast but controlled with their chutes full of air.

The lattermost just stared wide eyed at the platform his brain numb for the first time in his life as he tried to comprehend what had just happened.

Space jumps were not easy drills to learn, and there had always been some casualties, but even so the three cadets had never been prepared for anything quite like this.

But then again what could ever prepare you for death?

Jim was wrenched out of his numb state of mind by Chekov's voice sounding through his helmet's communications link.

" _O-Olson is gone sir…_   _Mizz Pike iz everything alright?_ "

"Yes… Yes I'm fine" Layla spoke though her voice thick as she made to gulp down a choked sob, only to squeak as she looked down on Jim "Look out!"

Jim swore softly as he looked down and saw that the platform was rapidly approaching his feet.

He hit the surface hard bouncing off of it thanks to the slightly lower gravity of the elevated height. He rolled over like Olson had done only moments before, his chute collecting air and dragging him back off the edge.

However unlike the dead man, Jim had just enough sense left in him to quickly grab onto a crack in the metal plating and hold on tight by his fingers tight. But it was a hard slog. His chute was collecting more and more air and he could feel the strong tensile cords attaching it to his suit strain and pull on his shoulders.

With a massive grunt he released one of his hands from the crack and slammed down hard on the button for his chute.

He felt his body thud down flat and secure against the ground just as the chute retracted back into its compartment on the back of his suit.

_Shit that was close_

He panted as he gingerly made to stand to his feet just as someone landed a little way away. It was Layla.

She had withdrawn her chute whilst still airborne and had grabbed onto the gigantic coil attaching the drill to the ship above. Once she was secured she had then jumped down to the disk below, landing in a carefully calculated roll that brought her up to her feet and a safe distance from the edge.

But not a safe distance from the opening hatch behind her from which a tall shadow with a phaser rifle was clambering stealthily out ready to strike her down.

"Get Down!" Jim roared as he charged forwards and Layla quickly jumped to the side just in time to miss the heavy clunk of metal the Romulan had just swung down.

She rolled to the side and whipped out her phaser from her hip holster and set it to one of the higher stun levels.

She quickly fired it at the Romulan only for a flash of green energy to blast it out of her hands as another Romulan made his way out of another hatch to her left.

Quick as thinking she threw her helmet at the new opponent and he caught it. It wasn't enough to send him to his feet but it was enough of a distraction for her to leap at him with a raised fist.

She smirked as she heard the crunch of his jaw bone against her knuckles and quickly dropped down to sweep her leg out under him.

Now he fell down hard, landing on his back almost in the way of Jim as he and the first Romulan began to throw punches at one another after each of them had disarmed each other of their phasers.

There was a zip of gold in the corner of Layla's eyes and she turned just in time to see Sulu jump to his feet. He was cutting off the strings to his chute with a long retractable katana which had gotten torn and snagged on the top of the drill and had almost dragged him into a flaming exhaust vent.

_WHAM!_

Layla cried out in pain something heavy collided into her, hitting her head and pinning her down hard to the metal below.

"You human runt! You'll pay for that!" the Romulan man above her leered as he grabbed onto her throat with one hand as the other reached down to his belt. Layla struggled hard, rasping as she caught sight of the large jagged metal dagger flicker in the light of the hot Vulcan sun.

"Scared runt?" the Romulan hissed as he raised the blade higher and was pleased to see her eyes widen as she spluttered for air "Well then Pity I'm not in a merciful mood"

He tightened his grip on her throat but Layla's eyes narrowed as she hissed.

"yeah…well neither am I!" and with the last word she spat, expertly directing her spittle directly up so that it splattered directly into her enemy's open eyes.

The Romulan above her roared in pain and his grip on her neck slackened as he reeled back from her. Layla seized her chance at once and before the Romulan knew what was happening she'd bowled him over onto his back, snatched the dagger from his hand and struck down hard towards his midriff area.

Right where she knew the Romulan's heart was…

But even as the tip of the blade made contact with the clothed fleshy body beneath her, Layla's mind went black...

"LAYLA!" Jim called as Sulu finally pulled him up from the edge of the platform from where he had just been dangling. He'd been on the brink of life and death, clutching onto it by only his fingers when the helmsman had finally managed to push the Romulan attacking him over the edge and down into the plasma drill.

Now he was running over to where a petite young woman was sitting astride a limp body a knife held tightly in her hands…a knife with green copper-based blood dripping from its edges and pooling out onto the ground...

* * *

 


	9. Into the Pit

"Layla come on snap out of it!" he grabbed Layla's shoulders and shook them hard.

He was relieved when he heard the small gasp of surprise.

"huh? What the…oh…"

Her eyes were wide as she looked down upon the green bleeding Romulan corpse below her.

"J-Jim what did i-" She spluttered her lips trembling her eyes bright as she began to look down on the dead body below her.

"Lay it's ok! It's ok! It's ok. You're ok"

"No Jim. I-I-I killed-I murdered-"

But Jim quickly grabbed onto the sides of her face and forced her to meet his gaze.

"Layla listen to me. It's alright. He would've killed you if you didn't do it. What you did was just self defence. Not murder. Just self defence alright? Alright?!" He repeated louder as he shook her shoulders.

He watched as slowly comprehension and understanding dawned and she gave a tremulous mutter.

"Right…self defence…the mission"

"That's right Layla the mission. Just focus on the mission." Jim sighed with relief as he pulled her up to her feet carefully, just in time to hear Sulu's loud yell.

"Guys! We've got a bit of a problem. Olson had all the charges."

Then suddenly as if released from under a spell, Layla felt her mind snap back to the present and away from the haze of terror and guilt that had been consuming her.

When she registered the helmsman's words she swore loudly and dashed over to the edge of the drill platform.

It was still raging on and they had no way of stopping it.

"Well that's just f-ing perfect?" she yelled loudly to her two friends "Now what do we do?"

Sulu was looking as peeved and as lost as she was. Jim on the other hand seemed to stiffen as sudden realisation dawned on him.

"We can't destroy it but we can stop it. Here take this" he tossed a dead Romulan's phaser rifle at her. "Shoot at the cords"

Layla blinked as Jim tossed Sulu another rifle before picking up one for himself and firing at a cable set into the juncture between the drill platform and the large cable connecting it to the ship.

Jim smirked as his two comrade's followed suit and began firing at the structure. Soon nothing could be heard over the loud crashes and bangs as all three young Starfleet officers began to demolish the drill bit by bit until finally the roaring of the plasma beam below began to dampen.

"I think we've got it" Layla yelled over the tumult of noise but Jim just shook his head.

"Keep going till its completely shut off"

* * *

Meanwhile back on the bridge of the Enterprise, a small beep alerted Nyota Uhura back at her communications station.

"The jamming signal's gone. Transport abilities are re-established." She announced to the bridge at large the members within all quickly scrambling at their respective posts to get their consoles up and running and ready for action.

Only one of them maintained a semblance of calm and that was Commander, or rather Acting Captain Spock, whose brow furrowed as he listened to the young Russian boy that sat before him at the navigations position.

"Transporter control is reengaged sir."

Spock inclined his head to show that he had listened, doing his best to keep his voice and face as neutral as possible as he nearly asked in a rush:

"Chekov, run gravitational sensors. I want to know what they are doing to the planet."

"Aye Commander-ah-ah! Captain. Sorry. Captain." Chekov nodded enthusiastically before wincing in embarrassment.

But Spock paid his slip up no heed as the voice of Jim Kirk made to speak through the reconnected communications link.

" _Kirk to Enterprise. They just launched something at the planet through the hole they just drilled. Do you copy, Enterprise?"_

"Yes sir." The voices of several officers at work drowned out the younger cadet as they bustled at their work station.

"Analyzing data now"

"Transporters are ready at your command sir"

"Captain," Chekov called over the top of all the others as he turned in his chair to look at Spock "gravitational sensors are off the scale. If my calculations are correct they are creating a singularity…that will consume the planet…" his voice wavered as it trailed off.

Spock's face for a moment was unreadable. It looked like he was torn between whether he wanted to choose fear or professional coldness.

But even as he spoke as calmly as he could, Chekov could hear the slightest of wavers.

"They are creating a black hole in the centre of Vulcan"

"Yes sir."

"How long does the planet have?"

"Minutes sir…minutes" Chekov's eyes fluttered down to the ground as his commanding officer quickly stood to his feet and strode away in the direction of the turbo lift.

As he passed Uhura he commanded stiffly:

"Alert Vulcan Command Centre to signal a planet-wide evacuation-"

"Spock wait" Uhura dashed after him but he only continued to prattle on.

"-All channels, all frequencies. Maintain standard orbit"

"Spock where are you going?" Uhura called as he entered the lift and turned to face her.

"to evacuate the Vulcan High Council. They are tasked with protecting our cultural history and my parents will be among them."

"Can't you beam them out?" Uhura asked, her eyes full of worry but Spock just shook his head.

"No, it is impossible. They will be in the Katric Ark. I must get them myself. Chekov you have the conn" he announced just as the glass doors of the lifts slid shut, Uhura's anxious gaze sticking to him even as he slid down and out of sight.

* * *

"Kirk to Enterprise" Jim yelled into the communications device linked into his blue EV suit. "Beam us out of here!"

" _All right stand by. Locking on your signals_ " the voice of a woman responded from the ship.

But even as the last word hit all three of their ears the entire platform shuddered and shook violently.

"Sulu!" Layla cried out as the helmsman yelled in terror, his body teetering over the edge of the drill as he stumbled backwards off of it.

 _"I can't lock onto you. Don't move-Don't move!"_  the transport officer from the Enterprise cried out through the communications links. But too late.

Sulu had already fallen off.

"Come on!" Jim yelled dashing forwards to the edge of the platform and jumping off as well.

"Jim wait!" Layla yelled rushing after him, not heeding the commands and orders coming in from the ship through her suit.

She had just about reached the edge of the platform herself and was coiling her legs ready to dive off of it when a pair of hands grabbed at her from behind.

"Got you!" a voice snarled in her ear and Layla turned her head to see a tall shadow looming behind her. "Where are your friends to save you now? Girl?"

_Oh crap! Oh crap! Enterprise quick beam me up! Beam me up!_

* * *

There was a heavy thud as two bodies, one clad in blue and the other in gold, landed one on top of the other onto the large circular pad in a transporter deck aboard the Enterprise.

"Gotcha!" a young man's voice, Chekov's, Jim faintly remembered, whooped triumphantly as both Jim Kirk and Hikaru Sulu disentangled from one another gingerly, wincing as their battered bodies twinged with pain.

"Thanks" Sulu muttered clutching at his side.

"No problem" Jim wheezed as he struggled to all fours.

Just as both managed to get to their feet a tall pale figure strode onto the pad.

"Clear the pad. I'm beaming to the surface" Spock clipped as he strapped a phaser holster to his person.

"The surface of what?" Jim panted, but nonetheless made his way off the transporter pad with Sulu. But even as he reached the bottom step it all hit him like a frying pan.

"What are you going down there? Are you nuts? Spock you can't do that" he called out but Spock didn't listen to him as he readied himself into a crouching position, barking at the console above Jim's words.

"Energize!"

"Spock!"

But too late.

The golden rings of swirling light had enveloped the Vulcan and in a split second he was gone.

"Shit!" Jim swore as he turned around in his spot "Can you believe it Lay? He's-"

But he stopped abruptly when he saw that the familiar short head of long dark hair was not standing beside him or behind him.

"Where's Layla?"

* * *

"Let go of me!" Layla growled as she struggled against the Romulan that was holding onto her from behind. But he already had too much of a grip on her arms, one of which he twisted painfully as it pinged into operation.

" _Sir, we can't get a clear lock on her_ " Chekov's voice announced loudly and clearly. " _not without transporting her captor_ "

" _Doesn't matter! We'll deal with him when he's aboard! Just get her out of there! Sulu get your sword ready"_ Layla's heart soared as she heard Jim's voice bark out the command.

He was safe and so was Sulu. The ship was able to beam them out again.

But all her hopes were crushed as the Romulan behind her sniggered quietly into her ear.

"Pike? Hmm now that is an interesting name" he sneered into her ear. "You wouldn't happen to be related to the captain that we've currently invited onto our ship would you?"

"PISS OFF JACKASS! Enterprise would you hurry up!"

"Oh so you are related. Well then I'm sure my Captain would be pleased to meet you as well. I daresay he might like to have a little chat with you. What say you?"

"I say you're full of shit!" Layla spat doing her best to stomp down on the larger man's toes, but he moved his foot quickly, chuckling in her ear as he did so.

"Wrong move"

There was a sickening crack and Layla yelped in agony as she felt all the bones in her wrist splinter and break.

There were many frantic yells from the communicator on her wrist. Layla could distinctly make out Jim's voice through all the hubbub.

" _Chekov beam her out! Beam her out NOW-KSHRRR!_ "

"JIM!" Layla screeched just as something something heavy thudded on the back of her head.

Then everything turned black.

* * *

" _JI_ -S _KSHRRR!_ " all members present in the transporter room winced as white noise suddenly popped into existence all around them.

"Layla! Layla do you copy!" Jim yelled into a microphone on the console Chekov had usurped from a communications officer.

"I've lost her communications signal!"

"Then get her back!" Jim yelled.

"I'm trying sir" the young man yelped, his fingers flying over the buttons before him in a mad whir "Come on Mizz Pike, come on. come on, almost! No-no-no-no-no-no! NO!"

"What?" but then just as the word left his lips, Jim's voice fell in his throat.

The black dot on Chekov's screen had suddenly disappeared in the blink of an eye.

There was silence as everyone turned in their seats to watch as the young blonde haired cadet stumbled back from the console.

Many of the officers present had seen Jim Kirk before, even if only from a distance.

He had always been rather a prominent figure amongst the crowds of cadets, even as a first year what with his backstory, that charismatic grin and that exuberant light in his blue eyes. True he was a maverick and a rule breaker and yes his antics sometimes grated on peoples nerves. But it was also clear to see that his jest was only mischief and nothing truly malicious.

Which is why when all of the officers turned to look at him their hearts fell. His face was as white as a sheet, and his clear blue eyes strangely clouded and blank, devoid of any of their usual spark.

Sulu's usually guarded face softened with pity as the communications link beeped on again and Jim quickly turned his head to listen, only for it to fall as Spock's voice rang clearly throughout the transporter deck.

" _Spock to Enterprise. Get us out now!"_

"Right away Captain" someone called out at their station and suddenly as if a hypnotist had snapped them out of a magic trance, everyone shot back to work at their stations.

"Locking Volume sir. Don't move stay right where you are! Transport in five, four, three two" Chekov called, doing his best to focus on his work as the mixed sounds of frantic officers mingled with the various crashes and bangs from Spock's communicator as the planet below the ship began to implode on itself.

Then suddenly there was a scream.

It was that of a woman's, high and shrill and full of fear even as Spock's voice made to call out loudly.

" _Mother!_ "

"I'm losing her!" Chekov's eyes were wide with panic as he tried his best to lock onto one of the signals on his screen that was darting out of reach of his fingers "I'm losing her! I'm losing her! No…no I lost her…I lost her…" his voice faded out as for the second time in that day a lump rose to his throat.

He couldn't believe it. So many times he'd been successful at working the transporters. It had been one of his best skills he'd developed in his time as a cadet. But now here he was working in the field for barely a couple of hours and already he had lost two people.

He couldn't bear to look up from his console as six figures manifested upon the transporter pad before him, the closest one holding his arm out as if reaching out.

But the spot before Spock was empty, for the person who should have been there had never arrived.

* * *

"Sir. She's waking"

"Pull her up. I want to see her face."

Layla grunted as through the darkness of her mind she felt two pairs of hands grab at her arms and tug her body backwards so that she sat on her knees.

She opened her eyes, only to wince as a bright yellow light suddenly flashed into her eyes from above. Whoever it was that had a hold on her chuckled darkly, as did a figure, who strode to crouch over her.

Layla squinted as the person's silhouette suddenly blocked out the light above her, so that his features were finally readable.

She shuddered.

She knew that face. She knew it because it was the face that had appeared on the Enterprise Bridge view screen barely two hours ago.

He had pale, green tinged skin, with pointed ears and a subtle V shaped ridge over his tattooed brow. He was currently tracing over the lines of her face, his dark eyes catching hers so that she could see the hungry calculating gleam in them. He rather reminded Layla of a bird of prey that had caught a mouse in its talons.

"Nero…" she breathed and Nero smirked triumphantly.

"Miss  _Pike_ , how kind of you to join us."

"Where is my captain?" Layla rasped her eyes narrowing as they darted over the room about her and her captor.

"Your  _father_  is safe…for now" Nero murmured with amusement. "He's not a very talkative man. But I'm sure  _you'll_  be able to help him open up in ti-ugh!"

He reeled back as something dark red and wet hit his eye.

"Go to hell sonofabitch!" Layla hissed derisively pleased to see the blood she had spat from her mouth sting the Romulan's eye which flashed as it glared down upon her.

She grit her teeth as she suddenly felt a hand strike hard at her cheek, a sharp claw like nail slicing the skin in one clean swipe.

The force was so strong that her jaw stung horribly even as Nero pulled his hand back and stood to his feet, looking at his two strong crew members that held on tight to the girl between them.

"Take her to the brig. No food. No water. NOW!"

And with that he turned on his heel, his dark clothes whipping out behind him as he strode away from his crew and the girl that was currently kicking, snarling and struggling between them as she was dragged down into the darkness of the Narada.

* * *

 


	10. Endangered

_"Acting Captain's Log, Star-date 2258. 42."_

On the bridge of the Enterprise, many people turned in their chairs to watch and listen to the hollow blank tones of their half-Vulcan Acting Captain as he spoke to the recorder in the Captain's chair.

_"We have had no word from Captain Christopher Pike, nor his daughter Lieutenant Layla Pike. I have therefore classified them both as hostages of the war criminal known as Nero. Nero who has destroyed my home planet and most of its six billion inhabitants. While the essence of our culture has been saved in the elders who now reside upon this ship, I estimate no more than ten thousand have survived. I am now the member of an endangered species…"_

But even as Spock opened his mouth to continue speaking, he found for the first time in his life that his voice had constricted itself in his own throat.

Not that anyone really could blame him.

Not when they too shared in his grief.

As such no one made a move to stop him when he made to stand from the captain's chair and walk over to the turbo lift. None save Lieutenant Nyota Uhura.

But no one commented on that either.

* * *

When Jim Kirk limped into the Enterprises' Medical bay he was instantly rounded on by a very frantic, very frustrated Doctor Leonard McCoy.

"Goddamnit man! What were you thinking? Trying to pull a chute for two people when falling at the speed of-"

"Bones…" Jim's murmured over the top of his friend "not now alright"

Leonard stopped abruptly in his spot. The younger man's voice was uncharacteristically quiet and distant even as his gaze turned down to the ground.

The doctor quickly looked about the two of them, his eyes searching the medical ward.

But no matter how many times his eyes swept over the crowded room, or behind Jim's back, not once did he see the short head of dark hair he was searching for.

He turned back to Jim and his scowl softened ever so slightly.

"Come on" he grumbled grabbing the younger man's shoulder as he led him over to a bio bed and sat him down.

He did his best not to look too worried as he saw Jim not protest to being looked over by any medical instruments. Instead he just gazed ahead; his blue eyes that usually glinted with life and light were now empty and cold as he let his friends' voice wash over him.

"Slightly twisted ankle, minor cuts and bruises. No concussions. No heavy internal injuries. And one sprained wrist. Jim could you-"

He paused when Jim silently held up his hand before him.

"uh…thanks" Leonard gulped as he quickly made to pick up a clean set of bandages from a kit to his left. Then just as he began to wrap the material about the damaged limb-

"They took her"

"What?" Leonard blinked and looked down to see Jim glaring hard down at the sterilized sheets on the bed.

"Nero's crew. They took Layla hostage" he then ran his uninjured hand over his blonde head of hair "I can't believe I was so stupid! I should've paid more attention. She had to  _kill_  a Romulan to defend herself! She had to cover my back when I should've been covering hers. We should have beamed her out sooner. I should've talked Pike out of letting her come alon-"

"Hey-hey-hey stop right there!" Leonard cut across him sternly "I know this is difficult to swallow at the moment but you don't go beating yourself up about it. What's done is done. Layla chose to go into this mission knowing full well all the risks."

Jim shook his head with a sigh.

"But Bones you didn't hear her. She was so scared-"

"Jim. Listen to me." Leonard dropped his patients hand so that he could grip his shoulders instead.

"Layla's young but she's a tough little cookie with more balls than most of this crew put together. You've seen her in training. She'll be fine. If anything I feel sorry for the stupid Romulans who made the mistake of kidnapping her and her father in the first place. Because once she's cleared her head and started thinking I have no doubt that she'll turn that ship upside down and send them all into a world of pain. We just gotta have faith in her. She'd have faith in us if she were in our place."

"I guess you're right." Despite his worry, Jim felt the corners of his lips quirk upwards into the smallest of smirks only for it to fall "But still, we can't just leave her there. It's like you said, if she were in our position she'd come back for us. She's our friend"

"And the daughter of our Captain who is also captured" Leonard groaned as he made to look back on his medical tray with a heavy sigh. "Man…we've really gotten ourselves screwed over…"

There was a tiny cough from beside them and both Leonard and Jim turned to see a young blonde haired nurse bite her lip nervously as she handed the former a PADD.

"Orders from Acting Captain Spock. He wants you both to report to the bridge immediately."

* * *

"Chuck her in here with the other prisoner"

Layla grunted; both pain and anger flooding her even as her body was thrown unceremoniously onto a cold hard floor.

"Make sure she stays put till Prod Nero sends for her" a harsh voice snapped from behind her.

Quickly she looked up just in time to see a door made of bars swing shut with a loud clang, whilst two shadowy figures made to stride away.

She crawled forwards to peer through the bars and saw two tall Romulan males make to stand on either side of the single door at the end of a long corridor, lined with similar barred doors to her own.

But there wasn't anyone behind each one of those bars.

"Wait!" she called at the guards "Where's my father?"

But both Romulans did not answer her.

They only just stayed still at their posts, one of them turning to the other and quickly striking up a conversation in their native tongue.

Whatever they were saying to one another, it could not be plainer that they did not care much for their young prisoner's predicament. Indeed they smiled jovially as one of them cracked a joke.

What was one pathetic human girl's suffering to them anyway?

 _Oh come on Dad. Please don't be dead! Please don't be dead_!

Layla chanted over and over to herself as she pulled away from the bars to sit in the silent darkness of her cell.

"He's not dead Short-stack." A voice spoke up quietly from behind her.

Layla spun around in alarm.

There sitting in the shadows of her cell someone was sitting hunched over his curled up knee. It appeared to be a man, a young man, if his voice was anything to go by as he spoke again:

"The other guy they brought in here. The one in the gold shirt. He's alive. Or he was when they took him"

"Who are you?" She mumbled her back leaning against the bars as she eyed the figure warily.

As the stranger adjusted his body to lounge against the wall, his features were faintly illuminated in the dim yellowing light above their heads.

He appeared to have white hair, though on closer inspection Layla saw that it was actually very pale blonde and cut short. From what she could see of his body, which was clothed mostly in dark obsidian clothing, he was definitely a Caucasian terran human. His eyes, each a stormy grey orb, were looking over her with an odd mixture of intrigue, amusement and pity even as he caught her eye and smirked.

"The name's Hawke. What's yours? Or should I just continue calling you short-stack?"

"No you shouldn't" Layla clipped with a scowl, desperately fighting off the temptation to lunge at her new acquaintance. Instead she opted to turn her face down as she made to clutch at her damaged wrist, which was still stinging badly from the fracture the Romulan had inflicted on the drill.

"It's Layla"

"Layla…it fits…" Hawke quirked an eyebrow as his eyes lingered on her dark tresses that fell about her face "Layla what?"

"Just Layla" Layla grunted as she tried to shrug her shoulders. She was still in her black EV suit, and even though it was fairly elastic it still was quite restraining on her shoulders flexibility.

Hawke seemed to notice her discomfort for he pointed to the suit's shoulder pads.

"You should take that off if you can't move. These cells aren't exactly the most comfy of places"

"Thanks for the info" Layla muttered though she made no move to rid herself of her gear. Not with her wrist so bunged up.

"So…" she clucked her tongue in bored fashion as she looked about the cell. "What are you doing in this cell?"

"Just chilling. Because I so love chilling in brig cells" Hawke groaned sarcastically and Layla rolled her eyes.

"No I mean, why are you in here? How did you get on this Nero's bad side?"

"Oh that" Hawke gave an exaggerated nod of recognition "I just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. My…spacecraft was found drifting into the same trajectory as this ship and they just picked me up and slammed me in here. Me and another guy."

"What other guy?"

"Dunno" Hawke shrugged "just this really old dude with pointy ears and weird eyebrows. Talked kinda funny too. So stiff and formal."

Layla frowned as she looked about at the other cells. As far as she could tell no one else was there with them asides from the two guards, who were still chatting away with one another.

She was so engrossed by trying to figure out Hawke's words that she didn't even notice him as he made to crouch down opposite her.

It was only when he coughed that she looked up.

"Whoa-What the-"

"Chill out short-stack! I ain't gonna kill you." Hawke rolled his eyes as he reached out to take her wrist in her hand.

Layla winced, but stayed as still as possible as her cellmate made to pull off her glove and examine the damaged, slightly swollen limb over.

"fractured" he mumbled as he tilted it gently in front of his eyes.

"I know" Layla muttered

Now that he was close enough she could see that he was quite handsome, if in a slightly rugged way.

_Oh no!_

She groaned in her head doing her best to avert her gaze from his face.

_Oh no Layla! Back away from the cute guy! You don't have time for this! You need to get out of here! You need to find dad. Oh god_

She couldn't help but gulp as Hawke leaned in to her ear and whispered softly.

"Scream"

"huh?" she blinked.

"Scream" he repeated tensely "act like you don't want me close to you"

"And what makes you think I want you close to me now?" Layla scowled and Hawke smirked.

"Because you haven't pushed me away yet"

"Piss off" She snapped quickly glancing at the guards nearby who stiffened upon noticing the actions in their prisoner's cells.

_Oh so that's what he's getting at…_

"I cannot believe I'm doing this" she groaned softly rolling her eyes as Hawke smirked and leaned in closer, placing both his hands carefully on her waist.

"S-Stop!" she whimpered doing her best not to growl with irritation as the man over her sniggered in her ear.

"I don't think they heard you short stack"

"You jerk!" she snapped her uninjured hand shooting up to push hard at his chest. She was surprised when he stayed put. Usually by now a normal man would be hitting the other wall.

_What the hell?_

But she was distracted by the shifting of the guards and Hawke's next instruction.

"keep going. I'll do the rest"

She gave a minute nod to show she understood before hissing:

"H-hey! Stop it! get off of me! Get off of me"

"Not a chance" Hawke grinned his face dipping down so that it was hidden in the crook of her neck. However in spite of their closeness he did not make any other inappropriate move.

Even so she still pretended to struggle and writhe even as she whispered.

"There is a phaser in my pack. NO Stop it don't touch me you creep!" she added her voice getting shriller

"I got it" He nodded his eyes quickly darting sidelong as both the guards made to stride over briskly to the cell door and open it.

"Hey! You stop that AGH!"

They both yelled as two blasts of light hit each of them square in the chest.

They fell backwards, unconscious before they even hit the ground. But their prisoners did not seem to care as they shoved themselves away from one another.

"Quick take this" Hawke hissed chucking Layla a phaser rifle and one of the Romulan's long dark coats as he took the others.

She quickly slipped it on, wincing as she moved her injured wrist.

"We should try and get to a communications port" She muttered, as they stepped out of their cell door. "If I can send a distress signal to Starfleet HQ we might have a chance"

"A chance of what?" Hawke snapped as he locked their two unconscious captors into the cell, pulling their coats hood up over their heads "I did not just bust us out of here so that we could play damsels in distress"

"excuse me?" Layla snorted derisively as they crept out of the door and into a long dark corridor. "Just because  _I_  am calling for help doesn't make me a damsel. Also you forget that if it wasn't for  _my_  acting skills  _you'd_  never have the chance to shoot those mor-ugh!"

She grunted as a hand made to force itself about her throat and push her into the corridor wall.

"You  _really_  are beginning to bug me" Hawke snarled down at Layla who glared back up at him just as scathingly.

"Then kill me now and be done with it. You've escaped haven't you?" she spat as the fingers around her throat twitched. "Go on! I  _dare_  you."

There was silence as Layla waited, eyeing the face above her closely.

Hawke really did look like he wanted to kill her. His grey eyes were filled with a hot savage heat that came with the thrill of violence.

Or was it violence…

In spite of her disdain, Layla could not help the small tingling at the back of her neck as the fingers around her throat went slack as Hawke leaned forwards, his nose brushing her pale temple.

She stayed stock still as she heard him suck in a deep breath, only for it to hitch as he exhaled.

"What?" She glowered as he pulled away from her his face strangely stricken.

He glanced up at her face eyes widening even as he drunk in every feature under the brighter light above them. As his eyes found hers they widened.

"no way… it couldn't be…they're just like his…" his voice was barely a breath, so soft that Layla almost missed it.

"Just like who's?" she growled but already he was turning his back on her and scowling.

"Come on! Lets get going. They'll be looking for us soon"

But even as she made to follow him, Layla couldn't help but frown in confusion.

_What the hell was that about? And just what the hell is this guy's deal?_

She rolled her eyes to herself as the man continued to ignore her presence, as they walked by corridor after corridor.

Then suddenly he stopped.

"Ow!" Layla winced as she walked straight into him, her nose colliding painfully with his back "hey what the-"

"shh!" Hawke hissed as he peered around a corner.

Layla followed his gaze and her heart dropped like a stone.

* * *

Christopher Pike was not a man that was frightened easily. He had seen and experienced many dangerous situations and faced them head on and would continue to do so till the day he died.

This interrogation was no exception.

Nonetheless his eyes were wary as he watched the tall dark form of Nero stalk about the examination table he was strapped to.

"You must have a lot of questions for me" the Romulan's voice was soft as he stalked to stand by the human Captain's head. "But I only have one for you."

Christopher tensed as Nero's tattooed face came up close to his own and snarled:

"I need the subspace frequencies of Starfleets border protection grids. Specifically those surrounding Earth."

But the captain made no move to open his mouth. He only glared defiantly.

Nero's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Christopher, answer my question."

"No, you answer for the genocide you just committed against a peaceful planet" Christopher growled only for his captor to snap harshly as he straightened up to his fullest height.

"No, I prevented genocide. In my time, where I come from, this is a simple mining vessel. I chose a life of honest labour. To provide for myself and the wife who was expecting my child"

And at this he reached up to flick a switch above so that a hologram flickered into life to show an image of a rather pretty Romulan woman.

Christopher's face softened pity as the woman smiled, holding her full term pregnant stomach with the pride and warmth only a mother could have. It didn't help that the woman held a slight resemblance to his own wife Helene. His heart twinged at the thought of both her and his Layla, who must have been back aboard the Enterprise, now would be worrying themselves sick about him.

Nero noticed his prisoner's sympathy and relishing in it he continued to rant.

"I was off planet, doing my job while your Federation did nothing, and allowed my people to burn while their planet broke in half. And Spock, he didn't help us! He betrayed us-"

"No-no you're confused" Christopher shook his head confusion clouding his mind "You've been misinformed. Romulus hasn't been destroyed. It's out there right now. You're blaming the Federation for something that hasn't happened-"

"It has happened" Nero yelled loudly so that Christopher winced "I watched it happen! I saw it happen! Don't tell me it didn't happen!"

But then he quickly took a breath and pulled away again, sucking in a deep soothing but still shaky breath before muttering.

"And when I lost her, I promised myself retribution. And for twenty five years I planned my revenge against the Federation. And forgot what it was like to live a normal life. But I did not forget the pain. A pain that every surviving Vulcan now shares…"

Christopher stiffened as his interrogator stepped forwards to hiss softly.

"A pain which you too will share  _very_ soon if you don't answer my questions"

"What are you talking about?" Christopher's face paled as Nero's eyes glimmered maliciously.

"Why…that very loyal crewmate of yours…what was her name again? Oh yes that's right…Wasn't she called Layla  _Pike_?"

There was a sudden scuffling noise and two of Nero's guards raised their phasers high as Christopher began to struggle fiercely on the slab.

"Don't worry" he hissed softly and the guards stood down "He won't be able to escape. He's too secure. However if he does try to move anymore you have full permission to shoot his little brat"

He turned back to Christopher who stilled where he lay, his face livid with fear and anger as he was approached again.

"That's better" Nero murmured softly "You see Christopher. I don't like doing this sort of thing. It doesn't have to be this way, me hurting your child to get back at you. But sometimes you have to get your hands dirty to fulfil your purpose. And my purpose is not only to avoid the destruction of the planet I love, but to create a Romulus that exists free of the Federation. You see only then will she be truly saved. That is why I will destroy all the remaining Federation planets. Starting with yours"

There was silence as Nero watched Christopher's face tense as he muttered and turned his head away.

"Then we have nothing left to discuss"

"You  _will_  give me the frequencies to disable Earth's defences" Nero sighed heavily as he moved away to a table close by.

His expression was passive, even detached, as he picked up a pair of tongs and reached into a glass jar in which something dark and small was wriggling unpleasantly.

"Centaurian slugs"

Christopher could not help but shudder at the sight of the insect, which indeed was slug like in shape, but with large mandibles on its head and a hard little black exoskeleton.

He tensed as it was brought over to where he lay, its carrier sneering even as he made to say:

"They latch onto your brain stem and release a toxin that will force you to answer. Frequencies please, sir"

But Christopher just clamped his mouth shut and shook his head.

"Christopher Pike, Captain U.S.S. Enterprise-"

"As you wish" Nero growled signalling to his two guards who rushed forwards, one of them forcing their prisoners jaws open.

Christopher Pike struggled hard. But it was all in vain as the small horrible creature was shoved harshly down his throat.

His smirk widened as a horrible retching and choking sound filled the air.

It wouldn't be long before the small creature would worm its way into his system, and it would take even shorter for its toxins into his bloodstream.

But even as he made to sneer down again at his prisoner there was a loud clang.

He looked up quickly as did his guards and his eyes widened to see a young man and woman standing behind a nearby knocked over torture station.

"Shit" Layla gulped, glancing sidelong at Hawke who grabbed her hand tight in his and quickly dragged her off at a run just as Nero's voice roared after them.

"After them! NOW!"


	11. Cold Comforts

Doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy shut his eyes as he pinched his brow. Though he'd not admit it to anyone present his head was thumping as his mind whirred in worry.

His Captain and one of his best friends (who just so happened to be the former's daughter) were both held hostage on board a psychotic Romulan's ship while they were standing about waiting for a solid order to be patched through.

Needless to say it was with great aggravation that he opened his eyes to glower after Spock's pacing form.

"Have you confirmed that Nero is headed for Earth?" the half-Vulcan asked Uhura who was seated at her communications console.

"Their trajectory suggests no other destination, Captain"

"Thank you lieutenant" Spock nodded only for Jim Kirk to speak up from where he was seated in the captain's chair, an unusually grim expression on his face.

"Earth may be his next stop, but we have to assume that every Federation planet's a target"

"Get out of the chair" Spock clipped as he paced by said chair.

Jim scowled but nonetheless stood up, only to start pacing as well as Chekov made to pipe in from the Navigators seat.

"Well if the Federation is a target why didn't they destroy us?"

"Why would they?" Sulu countered from his seat beside his friend "Why waste a weapon, we obviously weren't a threat"

"That is not it" Spock corrected him as he made to stride over to the large bridge view screen "He said he wanted me to see something, the destruction of my home-planet"

"And how the hell did they do that by the way?" Leonard growled from where he stood. "I mean, where did the Romulans get that kind of weaponry?"

"The Engineering comprehension necessary to artificially create a black hole may suggest an answer" Spock turned round to face the bridge at large "Such technology could theoretically be manipulated to create a tunnel through space time"

"Dammit man, I'm a doctor not a physicist" Leonard snapped, his already thin restraint cracking "Are you actually suggesting they're from the future?"

"If you eliminate the impossible" Spock replied calmly "whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth"

"How poetic" Leonard grumbled just as Jim made to steamroll over him.

"Then what would an angry future Romulan want with Captain Pike and Layla?"

"Well as Captain, he does know the details of Starfleet's defences" Sulu suggested quietly "And since Layla is the Captain's daughter it would be a logical move for the Romunlans to use her as either ransom or as bait"

Though that in itself was an obvious answer, Jim still had to do his best to gulp down the unpleasant lump that had been throbbing in the back of his throat as he stated boldly.

"We need to catch up to that ship. Disable it, take it over and get both of them back"

"We are technologically outmatched in every way. Any rescue attempt would be illogical" Spock parried his voice taking on a slightly stern tone.

"And Nero's ship would have to drop out of warp for us to overtake them." Chekov pointed out to his screen before him to show the stats to the other officers.

But Jim was not deterred.

"Then what about assigning engineering crews to try and boost our warp yield?"

"Remaining crew are being used to repair radiation leaks on lower decks and damage to subspace communications without which we cannot-" Spock raised his voice over Jim's as the latter tried to interrupt him. "Contact Starfleet. We have to contact the rest of Starfleet. To balance the terms of the next engagement-"

"There won't be a next engagement! By the time we've gathered it will be too late and Nero would have killed them both!" Jim cried out over the top of him his face a mask of fear and anger "You say he's from the future and knows what's gonna happen? Then the  _logical_  thing to do is to be unpredictable"

"You are assuming that Nero knows how events are predicted to unfold" Spock's brow furrowed ever so slightly, the only sign of his irritation with the junior officer "On the contrary, Nero's very presence has altered the flow of history, beginning with the attack of the U.S.S. Kelvin culminating in the events of today, thereby creating an entire chain of incidents that cannot be anticipated by either party"

"An alternate reality" Uhura breathed in dawning comprehension as she got up out of her seat.

"Precisely" Spock nodded turning away from an irate Jim and back to the captain's chair "Whatever our lives might have been, if the time continuum was disrupted, our destinies have changed. Mr Sulu, plot a course for the Laurentian system, warp factor three."

"Spock don't do that" Jim called his face paling as dread seeped through every fibre of his being "Running back to the rest of the fleet for a confab is a massive waste of time"

"These are the orders issued by Captain Pike when he left the ship"

"He also ordered us to go back and get him. Spock you are Captain now! You have to make-"

"I am aware of my responsibilities Mr Kirk-"

"Every second we waste, Nero's getting closer to his next target"

"That is correct, and why I'm instructing you to accept the fact that that I alone am in command-" Spock steamrolled once more over the younger man who wasted no time in yelling back, not heeding Leonard's yells.

"Jim he's the captain!"

"I will not allow us to go backwards away from the problem instead of hunting Nero down!"

Spock jumped to his feet quickly, his face impassive but firm.

"Security, escort him out"

At once two security personnel dressed in operations red strode forwards and grabbed the junior officers arms.

Leonard's eyes shut with dismay as he watched his friend struggle hard against the grips of his captors, his face a mask of fury and melancholy as he shouted:

"So you're just going to leave them both there to die?! Knowing full well that you could save the both of them! Are their lives really worth that little?!"

There was a deadly silence in which all eyes turned to Spock whose face was stiller than stone.

When he spoke his voice was as cold and sharp as an icicle.

"Captain Pike and Cadet Pike were both aware of the risks of their respective missions. Both were trained to be prepared for such hostile scenarios. I am sure that they both would understand how their great sacrifice will help us achieve our objectives."

Something in Jim's brain snapped.

He lunged forwards, yanking so hard against both his captors that they stumbled even as he began to shove them off ferociously.

Eventually he managed to wrench an arm out and use it to sweep one of the officers down so that they hit the floor hard.

"Jim!" Leonard called as another security officer rushed forwards only to get punched by his distressed captive.

Jim however did not hear anything. His blood was pounding in his ears as fear, anger and determination all raged through his system, driving all sense of reason out of mind.

_Sacrifice…SACRIFICE?!_

How could Spock say that? How could he even contemplate something so cold, so heartless? How could he just abandon two of his crew as if they were merely animals to be slaughtered upon an alter? No…not how could he…How  _dare_  he!

But even as he saw the blue of a science shirt come swiftly up to him through the corner of his eye there was a hard pinch to his sternum and neck.

At once he felt his body go stock still, his vision turned to black and his legs buckled as a cold emotionless voice clipped.

"Get him off this ship"

* * *

"We really need to get off this ship" Hawke hissed angrily as they turned another corner, only to come face to face with another computer docked room.

"You're telling me" Layla grunted dragging him back to stand flat against a wall as some Romulans guards made to come closer to their corridor.

She bit her lip, gripping her phaser rifle tight in her hands as they passed by them. However they were fortunate. Hers and Hawke's outfits were so dark that they blended in with the dark walls quite well.

As soon as they were out of sight they both peeled themselves from the walls.

"Jesus just how big is this place?" Layla whispered. From the outside the Narada had been gargantuan in size. But inside it felt larger than any city, indeed it felt like she were walking about a star-base. A very dark very disturbing city.

She gulped as she and Hawke made to sneak their way along the outskirts of the rooms consoles, their coat hoods pulled up to obscure their faces from view.

As they passed by a particular console she managed to catch a snippet of conversation in rapid Romulan.

She frowned a little as she tried to decipher a phrase, but it was difficult.

From her training at the Academy she knew a fair amount of both Klingon and Vulcan, but since she only had started a beginners course at the beginning of this semester she knew very little Romulan.

Layla sighed as she tried to call up that memory to her racing mind.

It had only been two weeks since Uhura had given her that tuition in basic Romulan, but already it felt like ten lifetimes had passed.

Finally after a whole minute of listening she heard one key word:  **nniet**

_Beam…the Transporter beam..._

Layla looked around. Sure enough there on the other side of the room was a transporter pad.

It wasn't the same as the Enterprises. It wasn't shiny and new. This was rough and hard and dark just like the rest of the Narada. Also, Layla couldn't help but notice, it seemed to be equipped with much more sophisticated systems.

_Crap…this is going to be harder than I thought…_

She chanced a glance back at Hawke who in turn was looking at the consoles before them.

It was mostly empty, save for two lone Romulans who seemed to be arguing in front of the console before the transporter pads.

One of them was obviously the operator, Layla could tell by the way he kept gesturing to the machine, but the other seemed to be a guard…or at least not an operator, because he seemed not to care for what the other was saying. He only shook his head and kept barking "dhat [No]" followed by something that probably was "don't argue just do it"

"No one else here" Hawke muttered and Layla smirked.

"You shoot the guard I'll deal with the operator."

"How do you know he's the operator?" Hawke quirked a brow.

"Because he's working the transporter." Layla rolled her eyes as said Romulan made to fiddle with controls. "Now get ready to shoot. And run"

Hawke shut his mouth quickly and held up his phaser.

_Good technique_

Layla couldn't help but think as she watched him point the firearm carefully in the gap between two consoles.

The shot was quick and precise and before either Romulan knew what was happening the guard was blasted back to the floor.

The operator yelled loudly in panic just as Layla darted forwards. Deftly she jumped over consoles, using one of the stations to launch herself at the Operator, who was trying to open up a channel to another part of the ship.

" **khoi** [stop]" Layla spat as she managed to grab the male in a headlock, holding one of her knives to his neck. " **iurret** [silence]"

At once he fell silent, gulping as Hawke made to stride forwards to stand guard over the fallen Romulan by the side

" **nniet** " she nodded to the transporter operator who shook his head vigorously only to wince as the younger woman made to carefully press her knife into his neck, hissing darkly.

" **nniet** " As the blade lightly grazed at his skin, a small tendril of green blood slid down his skin." **yy'a** "

The Romulan's face paled to the colour of parchment.

" **nniet?** " Layla asked once more, smirking when this time her captive made to nod, his eyes fearful.

"So will he help us?" Hawke narrowed his eyes.

"I think so" Layla then shoved the operator back towards his console.

He trembled as he worked, his fingers deftly moving over the screen as he made to type in co-ordinates.

"Stop" Layla barked before he could punch it into the system.

Quickly she stepped forwards and looked over the destination data.

_Delta Vega…_

Her brow furrowed as she looked over the recorded information that flashed beside the image.

She couldn't read much of the other information, however she recognised enough to figure out that according to the Log it was the last co-ordinates that had been punched in.

Was it an outpost?

_But no. it couldn't be one._

She frowned.

From the images of the planet she was seeing, Delta Vega looked to be a complete icy wasteland, an environment very much disliked by Romulans, who, like their Vulcan cousins, preferred much hotter desert like climates.

So then why had they beamed over there?

She heard a rustling and she whipped around just in time to see the Romulan beside her quickly hit a button on his console just as the guard Hawke had stunned sprung to his feet"

"NO!"

There was a flash of bright light and then darkness and stillness.

* * *

A lone figure of an old man stood quietly on the icy tundra.

His wrinkled brown eyes were blank and staring as they looked into the blue grey of the sky above. Whatever spark of life had long since vanished in their depths.

It was gone.

The distant red and orange planet that had been hovering in the sky…was gone…

He had seen it been swallowed up as it imploded upon itself, the great globe shape crumbling like a ball of dry aged clay.

Had he not had such mastery over his emotions, the man might have shed a tear, but he did not.

He could not.

His grief was too deep for that.

He didn't know how long he'd been standing there in that spot, staring out ahead of him.

Nor did he honestly seem to care that his ears, which were pointed, were beginning to get cold in the chill air.

He didn't even notice, not till the last moment, that there was something beginning to glow brightly on the ground barely ten meters away.

He was quick to step back as three figures materialised on the snowy ground.

Two were male, one a grim faced romulan and the other a pale haired grey eyed human.

He was doing his best to push off the Romulan from the body of a human girl with long black hair and icy blue eyes.

The elderly humanoid's eyes widened at the sight of those eyes.

_No…but it couldn't be…_

But as he watched, those icy eyes glared solidly at the Romulan as he was shoved off, green blood splattering the snow from a wound made by the girl's dagger.

"Shit!" She swore with a trembling sigh as she looked over her body which was also covered in green fluid. "That's the second time today-"

"Second time?" the human boy looked rather disturbed even as he made to stand to his feet.

Then he saw the other humanoid standing there.

As quick as lightning the elder made to put both his hands up in surrender as the younger male grabbed the phaser rifle and held it up to shoot.

However the girl was quick to force the weapon's barrel down.

"Don't! He's not one of Nero's"

"How can you be sure?" The boy narrowed his eyes warily as did the girl's as she locked her eyes on the older male.

Her eyes were swift to search his features, the swept up eyebrows, the greying but very neat practical hairstyle, the almost blank expression on his face.

"Because he's a Vulcan" Her voice was hard and sharp, however the Vulcan man did not flinch one bit. Indeed his eyes were curious as he made to look over the form of the girl.

Underneath the long black trench coat she wore, he could distinctly make out a form fitting black Environmental Suit, with a black parachute pack that had a small arrow like insignia on the front clasp.

"You are from Starfleet?" he asked quietly and she nodded.

"And you are from the Vulcan high council I'm guessing"

"Not quite" The Vulcan shook his head slightly.

"The Vulcan Science Academy?"

"In a way" the elderly Vulcan's eyes softened as he glanced over the insignia on her pack. "Who are you?"

Layla paused for a bit before answering. What the hell did he mean  _in a way_? And why were those brown eyes so familiar to her?

"I'm Lieutenant Layla Pike, Deputy Chief of Security of the U.S.S. Enterprise"

The brown eyes of the Vulcan widened ever so slightly as his whole body stiffened.

"The Enterprise?" he murmured softly and Layla was surprised to hear the smallest of wavers in what should have been an emotionless voice.

As he turned to look at Hawke, the younger man's grip tightened carefully over his weapon in his hands and clipped sternly.

"I'm Hawke, and if you don't tell me your name I will shoot"

"No he won't" Layla snapped once more pushing down on the phaser barrel with a hard glare. "But he does have a point. Who are you? And why are you down here?"

However the Vulcan man did not seem phased as he muttered softly.

"You'd never believe me if I told you both answers"

"Oh yeah?" Layla snorted looking at him directly in the eye "try me"

* * *

_Thud!_

"Ugh! You gotta be kidding me?" Jim Kirk groaned as he pulled himself up from the large icy ditch.

"Come on," Jim growled angrily to himself as he made to search his survival satchel for something warm, his fingers shaking even as they fumbled with the zip.

It was freezing cold, his fingers were almost purple and well on the way to being frostbitten from gripping the hard ice and snow in his hands as he had climbed up to the surface.

Eventually he found a rather thick fur lined hooded jacket and gloves stuffed right at the bottom.

With a shiver he quickly shrugged it on, sighing heavily as his body was encased by warmth.

Man. When the computer had said this was a frigid wasteland, or rather a hazardous class M planet (same difference), he knew it wasn't going to be easy.

But still, he grimaced, couldn't have that pointy eared cold blooded bastard of a captain have marooned him close to some form of civilisation? Even a primitive hermit with only a campfire would be better than the frozen tundra about him!

"Asshole!" he muttered darkly as he made to grab a small communicator in his hands before stuffing the rest of the supplies, which were mostly protein and food sticks, into his pockets which he closed up tight and secure.

As he made to toss the now empty bag back into the ditch, a gust of chilly wind passed him and he looked up just in time to see the sky go grey with building clouds.

_Brilliant! Just brilliant! I always wanted to freeze to death._

He thought bitterly as he pulled his hood up over his head and began the long hard slog.

The walk was laborious and hard, what with how heavy the planet's gravity was. It did not help that the winds picked up and threw the snow that fell and swirled heavily around him in the chilling air.

As he stumbled along he flipped out his communicator and began to speak into it.

Even if it would take a while for a signal to reach in this weather, it would still be picked up sooner or later.

"Stardate 2258. 42! Or 44…or whatever" he announced loudly over the roaring winds "Acting Captain Spock has marooned me on Delta Vega in what I believe to be a violation of Security Protocol 49.09 governing the treatment of prisoners aboard a star-"

There was a strange wailing howl.

Jim stopped speaking and wheeled about wildly.

The sound had come from behind him. From a small dark distant spot.

He made to take a step closer to squint only for his feet to hit something liquid.

He looked down and gasped in horror.

There, right under his feet was a splatter of what appeared to be blood. However unlike normal human blood which was red, this one was a vivid green.

It stood out starkly against the white as did the torn up shreds of dark clothes that seemed to lead in a trail towards the direction he was just looking in.

Jim gulped as his eyes trailed over the path only to see that what had once been a small dot was now closer than before…and quickly getting bigger in size.

He wasn't in a deserted tundra…he was in the middle of a feeding ground…

_…Oh crap…_

His eyes widened in horror as he managed to make sense of a large furry beast running towards him, its mouth open, razor sharp teeth framing a gaping dark hole that was its throat as it let loose a resounding roar, green blood dripping from its jaws.

With a yell of panic Jim began to sprint for his life.

However it wasn't enough. He had two legs and the beast had four, and it was using them to great effect.

They were larger, stronger, more sure of themselves on this terrain than he was, as was proven when the human made to trip over his feet.

He did his best to ignore the roaring behind him as he scrambled to his feet, only to trip again as something massive shook the ground beneath him.

He turned and gaped in horror as something red and massive clamped about the furry creature who let out a shrieking roar of pain as large teeth made to sink into its flesh.

Jim spluttered in shock as the bigger red monster, a strange arachnid/crab/beetle like creature, flung the smaller beast aside so that it crashed into a block of ice.

_Alright so you've killed your prey! Go on and eat it!_

Jim silently prayed, but as usual, the universe never seemed to listen to him.

The red beast turned at the sight of him and at once a great big mouth opened like a chasm to roar into his face, before crawling forwards on its claw like limbs towards him.

Though he would deny it in later years, Jim screamed loudly as he made to get back onto his feet and run helter skelter away from the thing, which chased him hot on his heels.

_Why me?! Why bloody me?!_

He thought as he stumbled over the ice and snow, his feet thudding hard, his heart pounding frantically as adrenaline pumped through him.

Then suddenly his foot hit mid-air and his body began to fall,

In his panic, Jim twisted round just in time for his back to hit something cold and hard.

He bounced off the surface hard, wincing in pain as he began to roll down the large slope that stretched out beneath him.

It did not help his fear when he saw in the corner of his eye, the red monster roll down after him shrieking with bloodlust and hunger. As it spun, its pincer legs struck hard in an attempt to find their footing even as both it and his prey hit the solid flat ground at the bottom of the hill.

Jim quickly struggled to his feet, doing his best not to slip and slide as he darted away from the deadly pursuer behind him and towards what looked like a giant mountian of snow in which was set a small but dark-

_Cave!_

His heart soared, and with a new found vigour he began to sprint like he never sprinted before, right into the gaping dark hole.

He could've cried for joy as he felt the winds still about him, but he did not.

The beast was still right on his tail, indeed it smashed through the icy wall right after him, as he made to slide through a small chasm in one of the many solid cold walls about him.

 _Yes! I can lose him if I just keep_ -

But no sooner had the thought crossed his mind, did he feel something wet slither about his ankle.

He tripped his screams of terror mingling with the creatures screeches as it dragged him back towards its gaping mouth with its long whip like elastic tongue.

_This is it!_

Jim thought as he tried and failed to grab hold of an icy pillar close by.

_I'm done for! I can't-_

Suddenly, his body stopped dragging over the snow and the beast gave a loud shriek.

Jim gasped and struggled as he felt a pair of hands turn him over to his back as voice made to shout loudly over the creature.

"HEY!"

Jim blinked.

The red creature was roaring and moving again. But this time it was trying to back away, its mouth open more in a hiss as two humanoid figures advanced on it. Each were holding a flaming torch which they brandished fiercely at the monster, which in turn cringed and hissed, its tongue flicking out as it dripped with blood. It looked to have been severed off.

"Jim"

Jim froze as the voice hit his ear. It was the voice of a girl…a very familiar voice…and were those hands holding onto him small?

He looked up at the person standing over him and he felt his heart freeze in his chest.

Crouching over him was a girl, with long black hair, pale skin and icy blue eyes and dressed in a black EV suit.

"Layla" he breathed his eyes wider than saucers as he sat up. "I-It's you?! B-But h-how-"

"It's a long story" Layla sighed heavily, almost in relief as she stood up and held out her hand.

Jim took it and no sooner had he clambered to his feet did he tug the young girl towards him.

Layla couldn't help but smile as she felt her friend wrap his arms around her tight before leaning his head down to whisper.

"You're ok?"

"Yeah…yeah I am" Layla smiled softly into his jacket only to feel him sigh heavily. "Jim?"

"Just, don't move for a minute" Jim muttered.

Relief was all he could feel right now. Relief from a great weight that had been weighing on him ever since he'd returned from that godforsaken drill.

"God you are one lucky bastard" he mumbled as he rested his chin on top of her dark head of hair.

Layla giggled a little at that but still leaned into him, her own arms raising up to return the hug.

They both stayed like that for a while, just hugging, not heeding the racket occurring barely a few meters away as both their unknown comrades, an elderly Vulcan and a young human man with white blonde hair, made to scare the red beast off back into the blizzard.

When they turned round to look at the two young Starfleet officer's they both exchanged odd looks, both of which were caught by Jim who frowned warily.

"Lay…"

"Hmm?" Layla grunted into his jacket.

"Who are these guys?"

"Oh…" Layla gulped. In the wake of finding her best friend, she had totally forgotten about her two new companions.

She gingerly peeled herself off of Jim, doing her best to keep an embarrassed flush from creeping over her face as she made to look at the two of them, the elder of whom made to speak first.

"James T. Kirk."

His voice was calm, but Layla and Jim could see that in those brown eyes, a spark of something bright had just been lit up.

"Excuse me? But how do you know…" Jim's voice fell away as he looked the Vulcan over.

He could never recall ever meeting a person like this. And if he did, he would've definitely remembered the meeting. Very few Vulcans were ever seen save in diplomatic circumstances, let alone one so old.

But the Vulcan man just stared at them, the corners of his mouth ever so slightly twitching upwards as he stepped forwards.

"I have been, and always shall be, your friend"

"Say what?" the human man beside the Vulcan quirked a brow at Layla who shrugged.

But the Vulcan man ignored them, his eyes solely fixed only on Jim as he said.

"I am Spock."

…

…

…

"Bullshit"


	12. Days of Future Past

To say that this was the surrealist day of Jim Kirk's life so far was a mere understatement.

One of his best friend's had escaped what had appeared to be an impenetrable fortress of a ship, alongside a mysterious unheard of guy (who weirdly called himself Hawke) AND he was sitting with someone who was supposedly the older form of the very captain that had just marooned him for mutiny from the ship he had supposedly led in another timeline.

_Oh god! I really must have hit my head hard._

"Head's up Jimmy boy" a female voice murmured quietly across his thoughts as a petite gloved hand held out half a protein bar in front of his face.

"Thanks Lay" Jim smiled sidelong at Layla who smirked as she chewed on her other half in a not so lady-like manner beside him.

She was surprisingly relaxed given the fact that both the elderly Vulcan and the young pale haired human man sitting on the other side of the small fire, were both eyeing them with intrigue. However whereas Hawke's grey gaze was wary and suspicious, the supposed "Spock's" eyes were strangely wistful…even dare Jim say it, a little bit sad even as he made to answer Jim's questioning look.

"It is remarkably pleasing to see you again, old friend. Especially after the events of today"

"Uh sir" Jim chuckled though the sound was hollow "I appreciate what you did for me and my friend today but-but- I'm sorry. But if you were Spock, you'd know that we're not friends. Like at all. You hate me. You marooned me here for mutiny."

"MUTINY?!" Layla's eyes bulged out of her sockets as she stared at him. "How the hell did that happen?"

"Yeah" Jim sighed not meeting her eye as he mumbled out the next bit. "I wanted to try and get the Enterprise to do a rescue mission…but Spock… _our_  Spock" he added glancing briefly up at the old Vulcan "Well…we had a disagreement…"

"So…you are not the Captain" the older Spock's voice was soft and in spite of his calm he could not disguise the overwhelming surprise that flickered over his brown eyes…the same brown eyes Jim had been glaring at merely a few hours ago, albeit with many more wrinkles around them.

"No" he responded quietly with a small shake of his head "No-no…  _you're_  the captain. Uh…Pike and Layla…well…"

"We were taken hostage. As was Hawke here" Layla muttered over a bite of her food, though her icy eyes were sharp as they looked up at Hawke who had been sitting in silence ever since Jim had joined their group.

He looked fairly uncomfortable to have the spotlight thrown on him and was quick to shove it off with a small gruff grumble.

"My craft accidently came across the Narada on it's way to Vulcan. Before I even knew what was happening I was captured and taken in for questioning."

"By Nero" Older Spock nodded gravely, his eyes staring fixedly at the tiny but bright and hot flame crackling before him.

"What do you know about him?" Jim frowned standing up to grab another small stick from the tiniest pile of wood in the corner of the cave, which he chucked quickly in though it in no way increased the heat of the flames.

Spock's gaze hardened, the faintest traces of iciness in his eyes the only indication to his true anger and hatred that was obviously swirling deep within as he said:

"He is a particularly troubled Romulan"

_Yeah tell us something we don't know?!_

Layla watched closely her hand fingering her phaser on her hip as the older Vulcan made his way to stand before Jim arm outstretched.

"Please, allow me. It will be easier."

But Jim was not comforted as he stared at the approaching hand warily.

"Wha-What are you doing?"

"Our minds. One and together" Older Spock stated as his fingers made contact with certain points along the younger man's face.

He shut his eyes and took a deep breath, as did Jim, though his looked more forced as he was sucked into the void that was the Vulcan's mind.

At once images of space and exploding stars, nebula's and asteroids flew over his brain all mingling and intertwining. Amongst them the faces of Nero and the older Spock flitted through, and though these were only small glimpses it was clear to see the slow descent into chaos. And as all this was going on an aging voice was speaking, it's echoing voice wafting in and out of each hearing, almost as if Jim were trying to listen to a carrying conversation from a distance.

" _One hundred and twenty-nine years from now, a star will explode and threaten to destroy the galaxy. That is where I'm from Jim, the future. A star went supernova, consuming everything in its path. I promised the Romulans that I would save their planet. We out fitted our fastest ship. Using red matter, I would create a black hole which would absorb the exploding star. I was en-route when the unthinkable happened. The supernova destroyed Romulus I had little time. I had to extract the red matter and shoot it into the supernova. As I began my return trip, I was intercepted. He called himself Nero, last of the Romulan Empire. In my attempt to escape, both of us were pulled into the black hole. Nero went through first. He was the first to arrive. Nero and his crew spent the next twenty five years awaiting my arrival. But what was years for Nero, was only seconds for me. I went through the black hole. Nero was waiting for me. He held me responsible for the loss of his world. He captured my Vessel and spared my life, for one reason. So that I would know his pain. He beamed me here, so that I could observe his vengeance. As he was helpless to save his planet, I would be helpless to save mine. Billions of lives lost because of me, Jim. Because…I had failed_."

There was a sharp pain as Jim felt the old hand withdraw from his face, the sharp images of ice and an imploding red planet in the distance snapping to black.

He stumbled back his vision swimming as his eyes streamed over. As he did his best to catch his breath (which was oddly shallow) he vaguely felt a smaller pair of hands grab at his body, stopping it from falling over.

"Forgive me" Older Spock murmured softly as Layla helped her friend steady himself on his feet. "Emotional transference is an effect of the mind meld"

"So…so you do feel" Jim managed to gasp, wiping his streaming eyes which for some reason were taking a long time to dry.

Meanwhile Hawke stood to his feet, eyeing Spock just as warily as he had done the first time they'd met.

"Going back in time. You changed all of our lives by doing that"

"I know…which is why we must go now" Spock nodded just as Jim turned back round to face him, Layla hovering beside him just in case he fell again.

"There is a Starfleet outpost not far from here."

"We should be able to reach it before the next blizzard hits, but only if we hurry" Layla nodded as she made to check Jim's communicator from his jacket pocket. Sure enough it was picking up a strong frequency.

She nodded to Hawke who cautiously raised his coat hood and wrapped his scarf over his mouth as did she.

Jim however hesitated, his (thankfully now dry) eyes still fixed on the elder Spock.

"Wait. Where I came from, did I know my father?"

Layla paused as the old Vulcan turned round to face the younger human, his expression ever so slightly sympathetic.

"Yes. You often spoke of him as being your inspiration for joining Starfleet. He proudly lived to see you become Captain of the Enterprise"

"Captain?" Jim quirked a brow but Spock wasn't phased one bit as he replied.

"A ship we must return you three to as soon as possible"

"And how exactly are we going to achieve that?" Hawke snorted derisively only for Layla to roll her eyes.

"Because  _birdbrain_ , nearly all Starfleet headquarters and outposts are required to be fitted with some sort of emergency transporter beaming equipment as well as emergency shuttles, a fact I well know" she raised her voice as Hawke made to open his in argument "because it is the duty of a security officer to be aware of standard Starfleet emergency protocols of not just their ships but of any other Starfleet base and headquarters unless stated otherwise by said bases officer in charge."

Jim couldn't help but crack a grin as his smaller friend shot such a fierce glare at the other young man that he actually took a step back

God, he loved it when she yelled at everyone else but him, especially when the victim was someone he disliked. And boy did he dislike that Hawke.

He kept his eyes glued on the back of the boy as they, the elder Spock and Layla made to exit the icy cave.

He wasn't sure why, but there was something about the way the younger male held himself that just screamed enemy. Or maybe it was the way he glanced every so often at Layla, his eyes glinting with faint admiration as she strode past him purposefully into the chilly snow covered tundra wasteland.

Either way Jim didn't like it and as he made to walk with Layla he hissed.

"Hey Lay"

"hmm?" Layla shivered a little as she wrapped her coat and scarf tighter around her black EV suit.

"What's with that Hawke guy? And how did you get mixed up with him?"

"We just met in the Narada's brig. He helped me escape." Layla glanced up at her friend, eyebrows raised with faint amusement laced with exasperation as Jim asked:

"And how did you do that?"

"He pretended to accost me in my cell and then he helped me stun the guards that came to separate us. Then we both ran around the ship till we found a transporter."

"and that's it?" Jim frowned "No exciting phaser battles, no capture, no noble sacrifice" he added and she giggled.

"No. none of that. Though I did manage to catch a glimpse of my father as Nero was interrogating him. He wanted the frequencies to disable Earth's defences"

Jim's face paled.

"And?" he gulped.

"I don't know. Dad looked alright when they began…but I didn't stick around to see the end…the guards spotted us" Layla trailed off her face falling sadly.

"I know…" She mumbled biting her lip hard."I should've tried to get him out. I should've stopped Nero. I should've saved him-"

"But you did save him" Jim cut across her firmly, a hand reaching out to grip her shoulder "Layla, you're the captain's daughter, if Nero could use anyone to get Pike to surrender the frequencies it would've been you. And once that had happened he would've killed the both of you. At least now with you gone Nero will have to keep your dad alive for more answers."

"True" Layla nodded grimly though it was quick to turn into as groan as Jim made to ask again:

"So now about this Hawke guy…are you sure he's not a threat"

"He's not" Layla scowled irritably "He's a jerk sometimes but I don't think he's bad…at least he's not as bad as Nero. Why? You're not going to freeze him to death out here are you?"

"If he makes any wrong move with you I might." Jim smirked.

"He wouldn't dare" Layla snorted "Besides; something tells me he needs our help more than we need his"

"I see…" Jim's eyes narrowed as he eyed the younger man from the corner of his eye. As he did so Hawke caught his gaze and sneered slightly, grey eyes narrowing from under the hood.

In between the two of them, an exhausted Layla caught Spock's calm but amused eye, both of them seeming to share exactly the same exasperated thought.

Young men could be so stupid sometimes

* * *

**3 hours Later…**

The loud metallic creaking sound echoed about the great wasteland as a door to a building was being forced open. Or at least it seemed to be a building. Most of it hidden under the remnants of a fresh gigantic avalanche that had just rolled down in the past few hours or so from a nearby mountain in the distance.

Indeed even as they got close enough, the four stranded humanoids could only make out one small black door against the piles of white.

"Come on just one more and-agh god!" Jim groaned as he, Hawke and Spock all pushed at the frozen frigid chunk of metal, only for it to swing half an inch inwards.

"Damn! This thing is frozen solid" Jim puffed and Spock nodded grimly.

"Indeed. It's probably not been used in a long time"

"Gee I wonder why old geezer?" Hawke snorted only for Jim to fix him with a glower.

"You know, considering that this is the guy who is doing his best to save all our lives you might want to show him some respect"

"Respect for what?" Hawke spat wiping snow from his hood. "Getting us all into this mess? He's the one who started all this bullshit in the first place"

"Maybe, but at least he's doing his best to fix it, not like you." Jim snapped before the elderly Vulcan could interject on his own behalf.

Not that these two would've cared, Spock thought and though his face was blank on the outside, his brain was torn between fond amusement and sadness as he watched the alternate version of one of his oldest and dearest friend's argue with someone who had been one of their most-

"Hark who's talking you marooned screw up!"

Had Spock been human he would've sighed and face palmed as both young men now stood toe to toe Jim almost yelling in Hawke's face.

"Rather be a marooned screw up than be a jackass that only stands there and looks pretty!"

"What did you just say you mother-fu-"

"WILL THE TWO OF YOU F-ING IDIOT'S CUT THE F-ING CRAP ALREADY?!" a young woman's voice yelled angrily.

Spock couldn't help but mentally wince in sympathy as Layla stormed her way over to the three of them. Her dark hair whipped around her sweetly pale but nonetheless terrifyingly thunderous face as she stormed over and wrenched the two men painfully apart by the ears.

"OW-OWOWOWOWWOWOW!" both of them cried out, as she let go of the both of them but not before shoving them both aside into the tunnel of snow that surrounded the doorway which she approached.

Her glare was such that Jim was surprised the metal door did not melt under it's stare as she examined it closely.

After a couple of minutes of silence she shut her eyes and sucked in a deep calming breath…and kicked hard.

All three males winced as her heavy EV boot clanged on contact with the door which crunched as snow and ice was broken along its sides.

Layla herself was grimacing a little as a tingle of pain travelled up her leg from the point her foot had made contact. However she chose to ignore it, pain would be the least of her worries out in this frozen hell.

She kicked the door again, and this time it swung open wide so that it crashed into the walls of the corridor it held within. She held out her hand quickly and stopped the door before it could clang shut again.

She turned back to her three companions, all of whom were staring in blank astonishment.

"Well?" she raised her eyebrows coldly. "Aren't you going to get in or shall we freeze to death?"

"I believe that entering would be the most logical option yes" the elderly Spock nodded a faint twinkle of a smile glinting in his brown eyes as the young girl made to courteously hold the door open for him.

As Jim and Hawke both approached however she spared them one disapproving glower before letting the doors go. The two of them scrambled desperately through just as the door began to swing back into position, before shutting behind their backs with a loud clang.

"That was a surprising display strength lieutenant" old Spock said blankly to the younger girl who flushed a little pink as she ducked her head down modestly.

"Just doing my job sir" she mumbled.

"Y'know last I checked kicking down solid doors designed to lock on maximum security is not part of a security personnel's job description"

Jim puffed leaning against the door as warm heat hit his chilled face, making the snowflakes on his skin melt to water in seconds.

"Yeah because you do so much security work, wimp" Layla rolled her eyes only for Jim to chuckle.

"Ok! Ok tiger settle down, I was just kidding. But seriously…thanks"

"hmph! Strength…as if you could call it that…" Hawke rolled his eyes as he folded his arms, which caused Jim to glare angrily at him and open his mouth in anger.

But before he could get another word out of his mouth something echoed about the dimly lit hallway they were standing in.

"Don't" Layla hissed as Hawke grazed his fingers over his phaser.

Jim frowned as he caught sight of a short figure coming swiftly up the corridor.

No short was just an understatement. Layla was short standing at only 5'4" but even she seemed to tower over the little non-human alien that had just trotted into view.

It looked…like something that had been carved out of wood…or at least that was what it's face seemed to look like as it poked out of what appeared to be warm, tattered clothing with an apron on top in which several tools were poking out of. The image oddly enough put Layla in mind of a shuttle mechanic.

As its dark beady eyes fell upon her she coughed quickly.

"Hi…uh…are you Keenser?"

The little alien gave a small nod and she sighed with relief.

"I'm Lieutenant Layla Pike. I think I just called you guys with my communicator…I know this isn't perhaps the best time but could you please take us to the officer in charge, its urgent"

It nodded silently to the three of them and then motioned to follow as it turned its back.

The four of them followed it down the halls eyes and ears pricked for any sign of danger. It didn't help that their surroundings were all so dark and damp.

_Oh well at least it's not as cold anymore…at least not as cold as outside._

Jim shuddered as he pulled his warm jacket over himself. Truth be told he was quite envying Layla, who was still in her well insulated cold resistant EV suit and barely looking phased at all by the temperature.

However she was limping slightly and gingerly holding onto one of her wrists as she walked.

"Don't give me that look" she mumbled as she made eye contact "What's done is done and I'm back now"

"I know" Jim murmured bristling slightly as his words echoed a little in the otherwise silent corridor. "But still I should've-"

"Jim" Layla put a hand on his shoulder, her smile kind and sympathetic "It's ok…really"

Jim nodded but he still looked very guilty.

_Typical Jim,_

Layla shook her head and sighed.

_Feels like he has to bear all the responsibility for looking after his friends…kinda like how a captain would…_

She frowned a little as she eyed the back of the silver grey head of hair belonging to the old Vulcan walking in front of her.

The Jim Kirk in this other Spock's recollections sounded very different to the young man she had first met in that bar in Iowa. That young man who just wandered around aimlessly from bar to bar searching for something that had meaning in his life…

_A bit like me…_

She reasoned in her head. True she had a father and mother who cared but even then, before three years ago she really didn't feel like she had anything to really live for. Now however she had a future, a career, a-

She was distracted when they were led through a set of large doors and into what looked like a large dark industrial space.

All the desks and consoles were cluttered as were all these canisters. It looked to her rather like the crazy mix of a mad scientists lab mixed with a shuttle engineer's workshop that had just been hit with a nuclear bomb. A de-sexed (she hoped) tribble was snoozing in a transparent plastic globe close to the epicentre of the messy workspace.

There a human man wearing warm clothes and a beanie, was leaning back in his chair with his legs up on a desk. A warm woollen scarf draped over his eyes as he snored loudly, mouth hanging open so wide that a tiny little bit of drool dripped from the corner.

For some reason the face looked oddly familiar to Layla, though for the life of her she couldn't remember where she'd seen it? The Academy maybe? He was living on Starfleet property after all.

Whoever the man was however, didn't seem to matter to Keenser as he made his way over. With a sharp jab he poked at the man's side, making him jump and snort and the scarf slip from his eyes.

"Wha-what?" a thick Scottish accent was strangely magnified as it echoed off the surrounding mess.

Layla and Jim exchanged glances, the former grabbing Hawke's hand as he fingered his phaser again. But the man in the chair only grunted and sat up looking at the four newcomers with a mixture of weariness and curiosity that quickly turned into irritability as he caught sight of the Arrow insignia emblazoned on her suit.

"You realise how unacceptable this is?" he glowered hard at the young woman.

"Fascinating" Spock murmured softly to himself and Jim frowned.

"What?"

But the Scottish man did not seem to hear them as he continued to speak to Layla who was nearly bursting with the effort not to laugh.

"Okay lass, I'm sure you're just doin' your job, but could you not 'ave come a wee bit sooner? Six months I've been here, living off Starfleet protein nibs and the promise of a good meal! and I know exactly what's going on here okay. Punishment, isn't it? Ongoing, for something that was clearly an accident-"

"You are Montgomery Scott" Spock cut across, his brown eyes that had once been blank now sparking as recognition (and some degree of fondness) ignited in their depths.

"You know this crazy Scotty guy?" Hawke muttered and for once Jim found himself in complete agreement with the other young man.

"Aye that's me. You're in the right place" the man, Scotty, straightened up haughtily as he added "Unless there's another hardworking equally starved Starfleet officer around"

"Me" Keenser piped in only to have Scotty yell back.

"Get aff! Shut up! Yer don't eat anythin'! Yer can eat, like a bean, and yer done. I'm talking about food! Real food. But you're here now…" he quickly turned back to Layla his expression hopeful "So where is it?"

But before Layla could answer Spock cut across again and this time she heard faint excitement in his voice.

"You are in fact,  _the_  Mr Scott, that postulated the theory of transwarp beaming"

"That's what I'm talking about!" Scotty nodded though it was very frustrated "How do you think I wound up here? Had a little debate with my instructor on the issue of relativistic physics and how it pertains to subspace travel. He seemed to think that the range of transporting something like a grapefruit was limited to about a hundred miles. I told him I could not only beam a grapefruit from one planet to the adjacent planet in the same system, which is easy by the way-" he added to Hawke who now was staring at him in a mixture of fascinated confusion "-I could do it with a life form. So…I tested it on Admiral Archer's prize beagle"

"Hey, I know that dog. What happened to it?" Jim glanced sidelong at Layla who shrugged just as Scotty made to reply through a swig of what appeared to be a mug of hot tea…that was probably laced with something stronger.

"I'll tell you when it reappears. I don't know. I do feel guilty about that"

He trailed off but Spock was quick to speak again.

"Mr Scott, what if I told you that your transwarp theory was correct. That it is indeed possible to beam onto a ship that's travelling at warp speed"

"I-I think if that equation had been discovered I'd have heard about it" Scotty grumbled but Spock was not deterred as he explained calmly:

"The reason you haven't heard of it Mr. Scott, is because you haven't discovered it yet"

There was a small pause in which Jim Layla and Hawke stared between the old Vulcan and the gruff Scotsman who's brow had furrowed so much that his eyebrows looked almost like one large brown caterpillar sitting on his face.

"What-how…are you from the future?" he spluttered and Spock nodded.

Scotty quickly turned to frown at the other three but Jim quickly held up his hands.

"He is we're not."

"Well that's brilliant" Scotty turned back to Spock eyes once more hopeful "Do they still have sandwiches there?"

"Hopefully…" Layla muttered glancing sidelong at Jim who seemed to be sharing the same grim thought.

_if Nero doesn't destroy Earth first…_

* * *

Doctor Leonard "Bones" McCoy was a man with many pet hates.

His first pet hate was when his patients thought they knew better about their own conditions than he could (because ninety-nine percent of the time he was almost always right and they were wrong).

Secondly he hated his patients running away from him whenever he tried to give them a thorough medical examination. I mean honestly, how on earth could anyone expect him to give a foolproof report of their medical conditions without him having all the necessary data?

And then there was the third hate, which was perhaps the worst of them all, he hated waiting and worrying about what would happen to those two people that he liked to call in his head his most "regular patients" Jim Kirk and Layla Pike.

He was currently doing his best to ignore the lattermost issue by barking orders at other doctor's and nurses for updates on injured crewmembers.

But for the first time in his medical career, keeping his mind on work was not helping his mood. With a scowl that would've flattened a charging T-rex he stomped off moodily back to his office, half wishing it wasn't automatic so he could slam the door shut behind him and vent some of his pent up frustration.

That was the one thing about old fashioned doors he liked. Though problematic with their lousy security mechanisms, they could at least add some theatricality to the entrance of their users.

But doors were the least of his worries now, unfortunately.

"Agh!" He tossed down the PADD in his hands to his desk and sighed heavily his head in his hands.

"How could this happen?" he groaned to himself as he leant back in his chair and stared up at the ceiling.

It only stared back down, blank, shiny, bright and sterile, like the rest of the room, which like most of the ship had that overly clean "smell" one would usually associate with a new car.

_Damn this goddamn ship! No-no Damn that goddamn pointy eared green blooded hobgoblin!_

He corrected himself mentally as he made to look down at his desk again, just in time to catch sight of something on the screen of another PADD close to his hand.

He picked it up gingerly and blinked in astonishment at the title of the document typed across it.

**_'The Eugenics Wars: Man Versus the Promethean Fire'_ **

_Huh? Promethean Fire-Oh!_

Leonard nodded as he scrolled down to see the smaller print below.

**_By Layla S. Pike_ **

Of course how could he have forgotten? This was Layla's rejected thesis. The one she had yet to submit to the new teacher. She had asked him to mind this for her whilst Jim had been asleep under the effects of the sedative, right before his hands had swelled to the size of balloons.

The doctor couldn't help but raise his eyebrows as he scrolled down the title page bearing more of Layla's credentials as well as those of Starfleet Academies, and down to the contents page. It had nine chapters and each were huge in size, especially a chapter titled " _The Rise and Fall of Khan Noonien Singh"_ and the bibliography and references were perhaps just as extensive at the end _._

He whistled softly to himself as he skimmed through the document.

Man! He knew the girl was smart but to finish a full eighty thousand word thesis at her age. He had to hand it to her she really knew how to-

He stopped as a couple of words seemed to spring out at him from the first page of the eighth chapter.

_Advanced regenerative abilities_

"Regenerative abilities…" he wondered aloud as he checked the chapter title  **"Even the Gods have an Achilles Heel** "

Leonard had to chuckle at that. Typical Layla humour, as blunt as a baseball bat in form but always delivered in a hard and sharp swing.

His smirk stayed with him as he read the first few lines to himself.

It was mostly filled with her introducing her philosophical notion about how everything that exists has to have an exploitable weakness at some point.

It was only at the end of that first paragraph that he came across the text he was looking for.

_"From the records acquired by historians of 20_ _th_ _Century Earth, it has become well known fact amongst the scientific community that the Augments designed in project Chrysalis were in fact some of the most physically advanced and mentally enhanced artificially created humans ever to have been created."_

_"Remarkably agile and quick thinking, this sub-species were noted to be five times stronger than the average human, possessing far stronger heart muscles and a fifty percent superior lung efficiency. They are also documented to have twice the average lifespan and slightly slower aging."_

_"This is due to the unusual redesign of their blood's genetic makeup, which we now know from recent findings, contained traces of enhanced super-regenerative-platelets that helped the body "self-heal" from any disease or toxin nearly ten times faster than even some of the healthiest humans of today's society."_

_…Enhanced super-regenerative platelets…self-heal from disease or TOXIN!_

Leonard McCoy nearly dropped the PADD in his hands as he scrambled to pick up his work one from the other side of the desk. Frantically he flicked through several reports until snorting he just did a search through his files for the one from yesterday.

_God please let me be wrong, please oh please let me be wrong._

He pleaded as the report came through and he scrolled down to the blood tests.

His face paled as he caught sight of the results.

"Holy mother of god," he sighed running a hand through his hair. "Holy mother of god this just isn't possible."

But it was, his brain nudged him grimly. It was possible…

_Does she know?_

He wondered, worry coursing through him as he looked over the report in one hand and the thesis in the other.

Did Layla know of the rather astounding connections between these two documents? Was that why she had wanted to write this thesis?

But somehow Leonard could not help but feel in his gut that that wasn't correct. No…if Layla had known something of this magnitude she'd be-

He jumped as a hissing sound announced the arrival of someone entering his office.

"Doctor McCoy,"

"Yes" he coughed turning round to face Nurse Chapel who was chewing on her lip looking nervous.

"Doctor, it's about Lieutenants Kirk and Pike…they're back on board the Enterprise."


	13. An Emotional Promotion

Layla's head pounded like a drum and her stomach churned horribly as the beams of swirling light faded from around her.

_Man! this is why I hate transporters_

She shuddered in self-disgust as she swallowed the bile that had just come halfway up her throat, only for it to come up again as someone shouted from beside her.

"Mr Scott!" it was Jim and he was grinning around in wonder at the place they had all landed in.

It was, Layla quickly recognised the Engineering decks on board the Enterprise. In fact almost the same spot she had just been walking in barely several hours ago on the way to her post.

It looked almost like a factory industrial space, fitted with many pipes and-

_HOLY SHIT!_

Layla squeaked in terrified surprise as she saw the short red head of Montgomery "Scotty" Scott zoom through the water right past her as it got pumped through a large glass pipe beside her. a couple of seconds later another figure zipped past, this one tall and with white blond hair.

"Oh crap" Jim gulped as he followed the path of the pipe and saw Scotty zip around a bend.

For a split second both he and Layla glanced at one another, and then they both split into fast sprints.

Layla was faster and was first to reach the pipe's end where she saw high above a large turbine spinning very fast.

"They've gone up!" She called out.

"I know" Jim shouted back, quickly dashing to a nearby engineering console.

"Get the Emergency Valve open" Layla shouted as she caught sight of the hatch high above her head towards which both Hawke and Scotty were zipping towards very fast.

"Right-right-right come on you little shit!" Jim cursed as his fingers flew over the keys. His heart was pounding in his ears

"JIM!" Layla bleated just as her friend finally found the right button and jammed his fist on it hard.

"Gotcha!"

There was a loud splash as the valve above Layla's head burst open. She only just stepped back in time as two large bodies fell out onto the floor with a loud thud, groaning and spluttering as they both spewed out water.

"You alright? You all right?" Jim called out as he and Layla rushed over to help their two half drowned companions.

"My head's buzzing and I'm soaked, but otherwise I'm fine!" Scotty coughed just as Layla managed to bring Hawke to his feet.

She couldn't help but grin in amusement as the young man did his best to wipe the white blonde hair from his face, which only resulted in it spiking up in all directions like a birds nest.

"Shut up!" he glowered when she snorted loudly.

"Hey watch it-" Jim snapped as he tugged Scotty onto his feet.

"Jim it's fine ok" Layla rolled her eyes only to pause as a red light began flickering high above their heads.

"Oh crap" she muttered.

"What?" Scotty blinked around in confusion and Layla nodded

"Security protocols have been activated. Which means we gotta get out of here!"

"No!" Jim hissed stepping forwards "We've got to get to the bridge! I need to talk to Spock!"

"I thought you just talked to him" Hawke glowered only for Jim to roll his eyes.

"I mean to the younger Spock!  _Our_  Spock" he added to Layla who frowned.

"Why?"

"Because I think I know how I can turn the ship around and get it back to Earth"

"Right" Layla nodded and then quickly added "does this by  _sheer coincidence_  have anything to do with what you and old Spock were talking about  _emotional compromises_?"

"Maybe" Jim mumbled not quite meeting her eye as she looked at him sternly. However he was glad rolled her eyes and groaned.

"I really hope you know what you're doing Jim"

"so do I" Jim frowned just as something or someone's voice shouted high above the din of pumping tanks and pipes.

"Turbine Deck three secure! Begin looking for stowaways!"

"Come on! We gotta find a Turbo lift" Jim hissed.

No one wasted any time in arguing with him, not even Hawke, as they all began to run, slipping and sliding around turbines, pipes and consoles as the footsteps of many heavy boots quickly began to advance on them from all sides.

"Crap!" Jim hissed as he and Layla made to squeeze through the gap in-between two large metal tanks. "They're cornering us"

"Yeah…they are…" Layla quickly stopped and grabbed his hand to still him. "Wait"

"What's going on? Why are we standing here?" Scotty hissed from where he and Hawke stood behind the younger girl's back.

But Layla ignored them and Jim noticed that her face had lit up as she whispered to him

"Let them catch us"

"What?" all three men spluttered.

"Let them catch us!" Layla repeated "If Spock knows we're here then he's the one who sent them down, ergo they know where he is."

But Jim shook his head.

"Yeah and they'll also know that he'll be following Starfleet procedure to the tee and will take us down to the brig instea-" but Layla put a hand to stop him

"Not if I have anything to say about it. Deputy Security chief remember." She tapped the insignia of her EV suit, much to Scotty's surprise.

"Deputy Security chief? Just how old are you lass?"

"Eighteen." Layla waved the engineer offhandedly before turning back in earnest to Jim. "And as the most senior security officer present I have just as much authority as the Captain when it comes to dealing with stowaways"

But even as she said this Jim bit his lip unsurely.

Finally after a moment he sighed heavily.

"Ok…" he nodded "ok we'll do that. We'll get ourselves caught"

"You gotta be kidding me" Hawke groaned only to get shut up by the three glares sent his way. "Fine we get caught! But if you land me in the brig you little-" but Hawke barely had time to finish.

Within a split second and with a speed no one thought possible, Layla stormed up to him so fast that Jim and Scotty barely had time to blink before-

_Kathwack!_

Both men winced as the sound of a hand hitting flesh reverberated loudly off their surroundings, drawing the attention of the security officers nearby.

"What was that?"

"it came from over here!"

"this way."

"Put your hands up and be ready to surrender" Layla growled back at Jim and Scotty who both meekly did as they were told though they couldn't help but cringe away slightly as Layla snarled up at a still very stunned Hawke

"You listen here you little turd! You may have helped me once on the Narada. But don't think that that gives you  _any_ right to dis me on my own turf, let alone tell me how to do  _my_  job. Therefore if I were you I'd keep my mouth shut. Unless, you want me to kick you and the stupid stick shoved up your tight backside, out of an airlock and into the cold empty vacuum of outer space? Ya got that?"

Hawke nodded dumbly, his eyes still wide with astonishment as he touched his cheek that was red and slightly bruised.

But Layla didn't care. She just turned around with a snarling huff, hair flying out about her, the three men following at a  _safe_  distance.

"HEY!" a voice yelled and all four stowaways wheeled about just as a group of security officers came running up to all of them, led by a beefy tall man with short brown hair and a familiar short beard.

It was he who spared Jim a particularly hard glare as he spat out.

"Come with me  _cupcake!_ It's to the brig with you and your  _friends_ "

Jim shut his eyes and groaned mentally.

Great just his luck. It had to be this brute.

He was saved the trouble of speaking angrily by Layla's loud bark of-

"Lieutenant Hendorff!"

All the red shirted security officers jumped (one of them even squeaked) in shock as Layla strode forwards to stand before them hands on her hips. Though she was short, she stood up so straight and so tall that even the burliest of the security officers seemed small and meek as they shrunk back.

"L-Lieutenant Pike?" Hendorff spluttered, his once domineering glower transforming quickly into a sheepish stutter as he lowered his phaser "H-How-"

"How I'm here doesn't matter" Layla steamrolled over the taller man her eyes hardening to ice as she looked him in the eye "I need you to take me and these three to Acting Captain Spock. There has been some development in the current situation. Development which he will undoubtedly want to hear of  _immediately_."

"B-But" another officer bleated only to shut up as Layla stared him down.

"That was not a request gentlemen. Lower your phasers and take us to Spock now!"

There was a small pause in which all the security officers present exchanged nervous glances with one another.

Spock was their captain now and had given them explicit instructions which they had to follow lest they be court marshalled. This of course was something all of them were afraid of, however it did not quite match up to the nightmare they would all be in for if they crossed a very angry Layla Pike.

"Yes, of course. Right this away mam" Hendorff mumbled gesturing courteously to Layla to follow him.

"Thank you Mr Hendorff" Layla nodded calm but still very much cold as she, Jim, Scotty and Hawke made to follow him, the other officers surrounding them in a defensive formation and still gripping their phasers low in thier hands.

"Damn that is one hell of a lass yer got there" Scotty whistled softly under his breath to Jim who snorted with a smirk.

"That's nothing. Wait till she really gets pissed off"

* * *

Leonard McCoy was pacing nervously behind Uhura's Communications Console as the doors to the bridge's turbolift hissed open.

Quickly he snapped his head up and almost laughed in relief as Layla and Jim both walked in at the head of a group of red shirted security officers, who all seemed to be keeping their distance from the former girl's furious form as she stormed over to Spock.

_Oh crap…he's in for it_

Leonard gulped as he watched the Vulcan say stiffly.

"Miss Pike"

"Mr Spock" Layla clipped as she made to stand before him arms folded.

"It is good to see you have successfully escaped captivity-" Spock began but Layla's eyes only narrowed into dangerous slits.

"No thanks to you  _Acting Captain Spock!_ "

_Yep he's doomed!_

Leonard sighed as the young woman stepped forwards to hiss into her senior officer's face.

"The Narada is on it's way back to Earth, which co-incidentally is home to the headquarters of Starfleet as well as the human home-world. Now Nero, who captain's the Narada is a homicidal maniac who wants to create a black hole in the middle of the planet and destroy it. to do so he has kidnapped my father,  _Captain_  Pike, and as we speak is probably forcing him to give up the frequencies of Starfleet's border protection grids for Earth. So riddle me this. Why are we going to the Florentian system when we should be going back and doing our best to stop one of the Federation's biggest threats from blowing up one of it's most important planets?!"

All eyes shifted anxiously over to Spock.

The Vulcan was just standing there his face blank, though Leonard could see the faintest traces of nervousness flicker in the his brown eyes as Layla glowered hard at him.

To avoid her accusatory stare he quickly turned towards Jim, Scotty and Hawke who all stiffened where they stood.

"Who are they?" Spock eyed Hawke and Scotty hard.

"They're with us" Jim answered stepping forwards and gently pulling a fuming Layla from the Vulcan who's brow furrowed and eyes hardened.

"We are travelling at warp speed. How did the four of you manage to beam aboard this ship?"

"Well, you're the genius, you figure it out" Jim gestured casually to Spock's blue sciences shirt, but that did not deter the Vulcan in the slightest as he persisted.

"As Acting Captain of this vessel, I order you to answer the question."

"Well I'm not telling Acting Captain" Jim sneered and when Spock remained blank he snorted "what? Oh no that doesn't frustrate you does it? My lack of co-operation? That doesn't make you angry-"

"Are either of you members of Starfleet" Spock steamrolled turning to Hawke and Scotty, the latter of whom nodded and smiled sheepishly.

"I um…yes. Can I get a towel, please?"

"Yes you can. Fredrickson" Layla barked at one of the security officers who quickly dashed off to the turbo lift, just as Spock turned to Layla, his eyes sharp and his body all tense.

"Miss Pike, under penalty of court martial I order you to explain to me how the four of you were able to beam aboard this ship while moving at warp"

"Well" Scotty began but Jim clipped.

"Don't answer him"

"You will answer me" Spock's voice was so tense you could use it to loose an arrow from it.

"Look me and me mate here would rather not take sides" Scotty nodded as with Hawke who put both his hands up in surrender just as Layla stepped forwards.

"Listen Spock I will explain later but now-"

"Miss Pike." Spock clipped to her and Layla could've sworn she heard a sharp snap in his voice "but may I remind you that you are still on duty and that unless you wish to violate Starfleet code-"

"Don't you start with me about codes and regulations Mr Spock!" Layla barked over the top of him much to the shock of all present "Especially when we both know you have just violated a fair few of them yourself tod-"

"Doctor McCoy, would you please escort Miss Pike to the med bay. She is undoubtedly still dealing with the residual effects of her traumatic ordeal" Spock commanded swiftly.

"Yes sir" Leonard gulped, but before the doctor could even take one step forwards Jim exclaimed in a loud clear voice.

"She is not going anywhere"

There was a very pregnant pause in which all eyes swivelled between the Vulcan and the young human male who. It was hard to tell which face currently held the most contempt as they stared at each other, their bodies as still as stone

Eventually it was Jim who broke the silence and his voice was almost a sneer.

"What is it with you Spock? Hmm?" he stepped forwards to take Layla's spot in front of the Vulcan in question. "Your planet was just destroyed, your mother murdered, and you're not even upset."

"If you are presuming that these experiences in any way impede my ability to command this ship, then are mistaken" Spock muttered but Jim didn't seem to hear him.

"And yet, you are the only one who said fear was necessary for command. I mean, did you see his ship? Did you see what he did?"

In spite of her anger, Layla could not help but feel the tiniest stabs of pity as sadness flashed over Spock's eyes for a split second. However the look was quick to vanish as he clipped.

"Yes, of course I did"

"So are you afraid or aren't you?" Jim insisted.

Now the emotion was clear for all to see in the vulcan's eyes as he snapped:

"I will not allow you to lecture me about the merits of emotion."

"then why don't you stop me?"

"Step away from me Mr Kirk" Spock muttered his tone getting tenser and tenser as Jim continued to advance on him.

"What is it like not to feel anger? Or heartbreak? Or empathy? Or the need to stop at nothing to avenge the death of the woman who gave birth to you?"

"Back away from me-"

"You feel nothing!" Jim shouted over the top of him his eyes fierce "It must not even compute for you. You  _never_ loved her"

And before anyone could even breathe Spock lunged with a roar of anger, his fist flying out in a sharp hit to Jim's face

Several members of the bridge crew screamed in fright as Jim reeled backwards, as hit after hit was struck at him.

"Spock!" Uhura cried out as to her alarm Jim spat blood on the floor after a particularly hard punch to his face

As soon as she caught sight of red blood splattered everywhere on the floor, Layla leapt forwards and grabbed Spock's arm.

"Spock enough! Stop it! He's had enough!" but Spock didn't even hear her.

With a harsh cry he elbowed the young girl hard, winding her right in the guts and sending her flying backwards into Hawke, who caught her quickly and securely.

"You ok?" he whispered, holding her up gently as Leonard came rushing over to them.

"Yeah" she whimpered in pain, clutching at her ribs.

Meanwhile back in the fray, Jim, seeing his friend hurt had suddenly snapped from his daze and was blocking strikes left right and centre. Sometimes other security guards tried to jump in and help him, however like Layla they too were sent flying back.

Jim, tired but still pumped from the adrenaline rush the fight was giving him, managed to get a couple of shots in himself however whatever small victories he had were quickly quashed when Spock grabbed him by the throat and swung him down hard on Sulu's now vacant spot at the helm.

Jim spluttered harshly, clutching and scrambling at the hand that now held his throat in a vice. However Spock only squeezed tighter, relishing in the way his superior Vulcan strength was overpowering the human before him.

His blood was pounding in his ears and his vision was so clouded by a veil of red that he could not-

"Spock!"

The voice that had spoken, had been shocked and to some degree clam. But nonetheless it was enough to snap the red haze away from his vision.

Spock blinked down and instead of an infuriatingly incompetent cadet, saw a young man gasping and struggling for air just as he struggled to stay alive…stay alive under the grip of a familiar large pale hand.

Spock's eyes widened as he released Jim's throat, his mind going numb as he looked down at his hand…the hand that had almost…

He stepped away from the console, doing his best not to meet the gaze of the one whose voice had commanded him, his father Sarek. The older Vulcan was looking down at Spock, his face mostly blank save for his slightly widened eyes.

Spock looked around him and when he saw the other officers he'd injured standing back timidly amongst the horrified onlookers, his pale face turned chalk white.

"Doctor" he huffed softly as he looked down to his toes. "I am no longer fit for duty. I hereby, relinquish my command, based on the fact that I have been… _emotionally compromised_. Please note the time and date in the ship's log."

Jim, who had been up till then coughing and hacking for breath, finally managed to summon enough strength to look up just in time to see Spock's tall pale form disappear through the turbo lift door. Two seconds later his father followed him, leaving behind an anxious Uhura to watch their backs.

_Well…that worked_

Jim panted hard wiping at his mouth, which was still bleeding, just as someone approached him.

To his surprise it was Hawke, who held out a hand before him his face grim but sympathetic.

Jim nodded and took the hand and gratefully allowed himself to be pulled up back to his feet.

As soon as he was up Scotty beamed excitedly from amongst the sea of security personnel that stood next to him.

"I like this ship!" he exclaimed as everyone turned to look blankly at him. "You know, it's exciting!"

Layla groaned, planting her face into the shoulder of Leonard McCoy who likewise was looking very, very irate as he looked Jim up and down.

"Well congratulations Jim. Now we've got no Captain and no goddamn first officer to replace him"

"Yeah we do" There was a small pause in which Jim caught Layla's eye, his face splitting into a small smirk.

"Huh?" she blinked but then her eyes widened as realisation dawned "Oh…"

"What?" The others all looked at her in confusion, but she only looked towards Sulu very pointedly.

Like her, Sulu frowned, only to start nodding at once in comprehension so that everyone turned to look at him instead.

"Captain Pike made Jim first officer"

Layla barely contained the urge to snort as Leonard's face dropped like a stone.

"You gotta be kidding me"

"Thanks for the support" Jim snorted as he made to sit in the captain's chair.

But even as he made to settle himself down, Uhura strode past him on her way to the console.

"I sure hope you know what you're doing,  _captain!_ " she spat down at him.

"So do I…" Jim quietly admitted before turning back to Leonard. "Bones take Layla, Mr Scott and Mr Hawke to med bay and have them checked over and fitted out for extra uniforms. Once they're done, bring them back to the bridge. We're gonna need their help"

"Right" Leonard shook his head out to clear it as he turned to face his charges. "You heard him. Come on. And that goes for you guys as well!" he barked to the other security officers that Spock had injured.

Jim watched as all three of his companion stowaways gingerly made their way along with the doctor out of the bridge before opening a shipwide communications link from his captain's chair.

"Attention crew of the Enterprise" he said, gulping down the blood in his mouth "This is James Kirk. Mr Spock has resigned commission and advanced me to acting captain. I know you were all expecting to regroup with the fleet, but I'm ordering a pursuit course of the enemy ship to Earth. I want all departments at battle stations and ready in ten minutes. Either we're going down, or they are. Kirk out"

* * *

"Ow…"

"Sorry kid."

"no it's ok"

Layla grunted as Leonard pulled back from her wrist over which he hovered his osteo-regenerator.

"It's a good thing you self-heal pretty fast" he muttered softly, even though a privacy curtain had been pulled around them.

"Yeah" Layla laughed only to stop short, her face paling as she looked up at her friend. "Wait…what?"

"Lay" Leonard gently quickly put a hand on her shoulder "It's ok. I know"

"W-what do you know?" Layla gulped.

"I think you know exactly what I'm talking about" Leonard looked her squarely in the eye only to sigh as she turned away. "Layla. I'm a goddamn doctor. You honestly think I wouldn't have figured this stuff out quickly"

"No…" Layla admitted softly. "But I was hoping you wouldn't. How long have you known?"

"Since today. But I've had my suspicions. Now take off your suit, I want to see what damage that green blooded bastard has done" Leonard muttered.

Layla nodded and gingerly began to slip the suit off herself. She needed Leonards' help getting the her parachute pack off, but was soon quickly sitting on the medical bed in nothing but her underwear.

Not that she really cared much, considering it wasn't the first time the doctor had inspected her for injuries.

"So?" she bit her lip as she watched Leonard inspect her bruised ribs.

"The suit must've absorbed a fair bit of the strike" Leonard muttered as he made to poke and prod at the darkest point of the mark which was small. "which is lucky considering you were hit by an angry pointy eared hobgoblin"

Layla didn't even bother to stifle the giggles that escaped her as Leonard straightened up as he reached over for a dermal regenerator.

"Stay still would you" he growled as he hovered the device over the damaged skin.

"ok! ok! You grouchy old fart" Layla laughed.

"that's  _Doctor_  grouchy old fart to you sweetheart" Leonard waggled his medical instrument warningly in her face though she could see the amused twinkle in his dark eyes, which faded quickly as her smile dropped from her face.

"Leo" she bit her lip her eyes shining a little over brightly "I'm sorry…I should've probably told you about this a whole lot earlier."

"I swear, you are worse than Jim when it comes to guilt tripping yourself" Leonard rolled his eyes and shook his head in exasperation before reaching out and grabbing her shoulders "Seriously Layla its ok. Yes maybe you should've told me earlier. But what you should've done and could've done, that's all in the past. What's important now is that we've gotta focus on what's coming and what we can do in the here and now. Got it?"

Layla opened her mouth, but when she couldn't find the words to say, just shut it and nodded dumbly.

Leonard, satisfied with her compliance was quick to straighten up just in time as a hand reached through the privacy curtain.

"Miss Pike's clothes sir" a woman's voice called.

"Thank you Chapel" McCoy nodded taking a handful of clothes from a pale pair of arms which disappeared as quickly as a shadow even as Layla tried to take a peek at their owner.

"Here you go" Leonard grumbled as he shoved the clothing into her lap.

"Thanks" Layla shivered as she took the Red shirt into her hands, revelling in the soft feel of the material.

Quickly she stood up and began to dress as Leonard began to look over his PADD again.

"Are you sure you don't want to shower" he asked as she slipped the pants and boots on.

"As unhygienic as it sounds Leo, I won't bathe or eat or sleep till my dad is back aboard this ship safe and sound" the last words came out muffled as Layla pulled on both the long undershirt and the red over shirt over the top of her head.

"Oh it feels good to be back in uniform" she sighed as she settled her hair out of her collar "Right! now to go find Lieutenant Commander Giotto and give him my report"

"Uh…Layla" Leonard gulped, grabbing Layla's arm before she could leave the curtain.

When she turned back to face him, she was surprised to see his face very grim and down.

Her heart sank in her gut.

"He's dead isn't he?" she asked, her voice quiet and small.

Leonard nodded his jaw tensing. "Was sucked out from a hole in the lower hull when the Narada attacked."

"Right…right" Layla nodded quietly "So then my commanding officer would be…"

But Leonard shook his head.

"No one.…" he paused and took a deep shuddering breath "You are currently the highest ranking security officer on board."

There was a silence as Layla stared in shock at the doctor, who quickly brought up a file on his PADD on which was listed all the commanding officer's of the ships. There at the top underneath the section for  _chief medical personnel_  were the roster of  _chief security personnel_.

Giotto's name and picture was transparent and crossed out. But beneath that bright and clear for all to see, was her picture and her name.

_Lieutenant Layla S. Pike- Acting Chief of Security._

"You've got to be shitting me"


	14. Finding Common Ground

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Friendship is born at that moment when one man says to another: "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself . . .""  
> ― C.S. Lewis, The Four Loves

Lieutenant Layla Pike and Doctor Leonard McCoy were both silent as they left the privacy of the curtained off medical bed and approached the exit. However as they approached the tall figure of Hawke emerged from the medical centre's bathroom, tugging on the plain black long undershirt of the Starfleet uniform.

In spite of her irritation at the young man, Layla could not help but blush as she caught a glimpse of his strong, muscled, v-shaped, six packed waist and his perfectly toned chest.

_No-no! Layla he's a jerk he's not worth your time or your effort._

A voice that sounded eerily like her father's echoed in the depths of her head.

_Yeah well for a jerk he's still is damn hot!_

A voice that sounded like hers wolf whistled loudly as Hawke's head popped through the neck of the shirt. His face was flushed slightly pink, and his hair was damp and mussed up all over the place so that occasionally a drop of water slid down the side of his head and down his neck.

It was one of these droplets that Layla did her best to avoid watching as the fine specimen of a man before her ran a hand through his hair to neaten it up.

He smirked as he caught her surprised face.

It was the perfect tilt of the lips. Sweet, polite and yet still devilishly alluring, and his grey eyes were stormy and mysterious.

Layla had seen Jim use that smirk countless of times on both her and other women, and had not felt a damn thing save exasperation or amusement.

Now however, seeing it on Hawke's face was…was…

She could feel her cheeks flush deeply as he gave her a tiny wink and said.

"Liking the view short stack?"

Somewhere beside her she felt Leonard stiffen, like he always did whenever a boy made a pass at her. Close friends though they were, Layla always found the doctor's strong paternal protectiveness of her quite irritating sometimes. She already had one father who did a fine job at chasing off boys…or rather she had until this morning.

It was strangely scary, she couldn't help but think to herself. Not having her father close by. Even if she could look after herself knowing that his presence was there when she needed him was comfort enough.

But either way she was grateful for the doctor's presence now, for it gave her the strength to shrug coldly and say.

"meh! I've seen better"

She was trying to stay nonchalant, though for some reason she could not tear her eyes away from him.

And neither, so it seemed could he.

His smirk widened appreciatively as he looked her uniform up and down.

"So have I…but I have to admit the red becomes you quite well…as does the black" he added his eyes resting on the black pants fitted tightly around her behind.

"Y'know it's a real shame that Jim friend of yours hasn't tapped that yet" he murmured enjoying the way the girl before him flushed even pinker as anger flashed in her icy eyes.

However when she spoke her voice was calm. If a little bit cold.

"It might astonish you to know, but men and women can be friends without any sexual agenda."

"Oh I am well aware of that short stack" Hawke purred softly his eyes still roving over her form "No bath huh?"

"No" Layla clipped "Earth is going to be destroyed and my father possibly killed so I'm not going to waste a second of my time, even if it means remaining dirty till this is over"

"And you'd know all about being  _dirty_  wouldn't you Layla?" Hawke's eyes smouldered as he looked over Layla's face as she flushed again.

"Look I hate to interrupt your very inappropriate commentary of my friend -" Leonard glowered hard at the young man as he made to stand close beside Layla, looking more like a guard dog than a doctor "-But Jim I-I mean Captain Kirk has requested your attendance on the bridge and I suggest we get moving"

And with that he made to grab Layla around the shoulders and steer her away quickly down the corridor.

"thank you" she murmured to the doctor who growled back irritably, his southern accent growing stronger with every grunt.

"Sweetheart, I've said it before and I'll say it again. If any ass like that ever talks like that to you I'll sort him out faster than a dog catches a fox."

"Whilst I'm sure I could probably beat the crap out of him even faster than that, thanks" Layla smiled widely only to still in her spot as a familiar tall figure in blue stepped out of a corridor.

"Oh great what does that pointy eared hobgoblin want now?" Leonard muttered under his breath for only Layla to hear, only to cringe as she stepped on his foot.

"Commander" she nodded stiffly as Spock paced to stand before her, his pale face impassive as he looked down on her with his searching dark brown gaze.

"Cadet Pike, I understand if you and the doctor are in a hurry, but I was wondering if I could have a word with you?"

"Um… a private word or" Layla gulped nervously and Spock nodded.

"Yes. However if you are uncomfortable with the arrangement Doctor McCoy is welcome to-"

"No-no! it's ok" Layla glanced towards Leonard who rolled his eyes with a nod and a sigh.

"I'll tell Jim you'll be up in five. Come on Dawkins-Bawkins or whatever your name is!" he waved back to Hawke who scowled. However he did not argue with the doctor as he made to follow him into the turbo lift which shut quickly and zipped away.

Once they were out of sight Layla backed away from Spock to lean against the wall of the now very empty corridor.

"So, Mr Spock. What is it that you want to talk about?" she didn't know how she managed to do it, but she was able to keep the nasty snap out of her voice as she narrowed her eyes upon the half-vulcan commander before her who only blinked once before stating quietly:

"I wished to express…my apologies to you."

Layla blinked.

"…Come again?"

"I wish to apologise-" Spock's eyes quickly darted downwards but otherwise there was no inclination of any embarrassment on his behalf as he continued to speak. "-For not taking responsibility for your capture in the call of duty and for my treatment of you on the bridge. It was illogical and unfair to turn your input away especially after the events you had to experience. Though I denied it then, I now realise I was letting my own emotions rule my own sense of logic"

Layla was glad Spock waited patiently for her to answer, though at the same time she was a little unnerved by having his full attention on her.

It was only after a good minute that she finally was able to cough out:

"Yeah, anger tends to do that to you."

_Wow that was smooth!_

She cursed herself as Spock quirked a brow slightly as he thought her statement over. After a moment of quiet deliberation, he nodded.

"And yet it does not excuse my behaviour-"

"No it doesn't" Layla cut across him firmly though her gaze was no longer as harsh as it was before "but even so… You lost your family and your planet all in one fell swoop. And whilst it doesn't seem that way, it was both natural and logical for you to feel conflicted and frustrated. You are still half human after all" She added when Spock opened his mouth to say.

"Does this mean that you forgive my actions?"

Layla glanced up at the Vulcan and was surprised to see that though he was doing his best to keep his face blank, his eyes glimmered with worry.

"I guess I do" She couldn't help but quirk an eyebrow up at him. "You don't say this kind of thing too often do you?

"I admit…I am unused to adhering to my more human side," Spock nodded slowly and Layla smirked softly.

"Compassion is a muscle that gets stronger with use, Mr Spock" she said as she peeled herself off the wall to begin walking slowly down the corridor. "And I think you'll get the hang of using it just fine if you allow yourself to"

Spock seeing her unsaid request quietly joined her to step beside her into the turbolift.

Once the doors shut Layla allowed herself a long heavy sigh.

"Oh man…" she shut her eyes as she stretched out her arms behind her back

"Miss Pike" Spock asked as he stood stock still beside her in parade rest.

"Hmm?" she grunted glancing at him with a pair of sharp icy eyes.

"May I ask a personal query?"

"Yeah, what about?" Layla snorted as she straightened up.

"Andrew Hawkins. What is your current connection with him and on what grounds do you permit him to roam freely about this ship?"

"to start off with, Hawke and I do not have any real connections whatsoever" Layla rolled her eyes once more "we only met today when Nero chucked me in the brig cell. He helped me escape and in accordance to that debt I have provided him with assistance. As for why he's being allowed to roam around freely…"

She chewed her lip hard, doing her best to avoid the Vulcan's searching gaze.

"Ok…I admit, his situation seem far too coincidental to not be suspicious" she mumbled "but given what's happened today I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. There were so many times he could've killed me when my use to him became obsolete. But he didn't. And I want to know why-"

"And so you wish to gain his trust to find his motives?" Spock murmured and she nodded. "It is…a logical move given the circumstances…however it is also risky-"

"Pardon my interruption Commander, but everything we do has a risk." Layla's eyes narrowed on the Vulcan beside her. "Especially when people like us are responsible for the lives and safety of others"

Spock nodded silently again before saying softly.

"I will admit Lieutenant, when I first became aware of Lieutenant-Commander Giotto's decision to make you his deputy I was…sceptical. Not because I doubt your skills" He added when said lieutenant's body tensed up slightly.

"No I have seen reasonable evidence of your proficiency in many areas. But it was because of your age. For before I came to Earth I had barely had any contact with a human below the age of adulthood. I surmised that there would logically be vast differences in emotional intelligence between the children and adolescents of Vulcans, to those of Terran Humans"

"Well you aren't wrong there" Layla smirked, but Spock ignored her as he continued to murmur over the top.

"So you can imagine how… _surprised-_ " - and as he said this the Commander looked strangely uncomfortable "-I was to find that the youngest student in my classes has been perhaps one of the most mature in mindset. Both back then… and now."

"I'm not mature Mr Spock" Layla shook her head softly down to her feet. But even as she rolled her eyes Spock could see the slightest gleam of sadness and fear, flicker over her icy orbs as she mumbled.

"I thought I was, but now after getting out of that mess I know what I really am, and that's a spoiled brat. I pick fights that aren't mine to fight because I know I can win them. I talk big, shout and boss people around because I know I won't get in trouble for it. I yell at my friends and I take my parents for granted because I assume they will always be there and they will always forgive me. Even when I have done something that cannot be forgiven"

"If you are implying that your actions aboard the drill platform above Vulcan Miss Pike, were acts of murder, then allow me to disagree" Spock's voice was calm, but steady, his brown eyes hard with…was that determination. "It was clear from the recordings and from Mr Sulu's account that the Romulan in question was intent upon maliciously hurting you, and that you killed him only out of self-defence. And it is of my personal opinion that even if the defence itself was violent, the fact that you show remorse for your actions and wish take responsibility for them, proves to me that you are just as mature, if not more so, than I have thought beforehand. Which brings me back to Lieutenant Commander Giotto's decision; a matter on which I now stand corrected as it were. A matter of which I am sure, your father Captain Pike, would be most proud"

Layla opened her mouth to speak, but shut it hastily. But then again it was only natural. Her mind was blank of what to say. But what could she say to such a declaration.

_Commander Spock giving compliments? Jim's words must really have shaken him up a bit._

She was glad when the turbo lift doors both opened onto the bridge, and several raised voices suddenly blasted into her ears.

"Wow…gone for only half an hour and already they're going at it" she muttered more to herself than to Spock, though the Vulcan quirked an eyebrow and tilted his head in a nod of agreement.

And thus, those moments of shared amusement and irritation began between Commander and Lieutenant, though they would not know it yet.

* * *

"-whatever the case, we need to get aboard Nero's ship undetected."

"We can't just go in there guns blazing Jim, not with their technology, I'm telling you the math doesn't support what you're suggesting."

In spite of the small gruff argument between the newly appointed Captain Jim Kirk and his Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy, Ensign Pavel Chekov couldn't help but grin as he darted from his tactical station to stand between them.

Around them in a huddle, lieutenant's Sulu and Uhura were also pouring over data they had in front of the sandy haired captain as a tall pale blonde haired man stood behind at a slight distance, listening with quiet but steely determination.

He was standing so still he could've been made of stone, and when added to his equally grim grey eyes he almost seemed like a soldier standing on the front line of a battle field awaiting the order to charge. Normally the presence of such a stern person would've frightened Ensign Chekov. But he was too excited about his new findings that he didn't pause to think twice of the stranger as he brushed passed, his face alight with the eager energy of a puppy that had just discovered a treat hidden accidently in a corner.

"Keptin Kurk! Keptin Kurk!" he called out tapping Kirk on the shoulder.

"Yes Mr Checkov. What is it?" Jim barked, doing his best to keep his nerves in check.

He had nearly three people yelling at him and one creepily watching him with a laser-like vision. The last thing he needed was someone else breathing down his neck.

Therefore he was very much relieved to see the younger man's bright excitable face brighten as he made to explain his findings.

"Based on the Narada's course from Wvulcan, I have projected that Nero will travel past Saturn. Like you said, we need to stay invisible to Nero, or he'll destroy us. If Mr Scott can get us to warp factor 4 and if we drop out of warp behind one of Saturn's moons, say, Titan, the magnetic distortion from the planet's rings will make us invisible to Nero's sensors. From there, as long as the drill is not actuated, we can beam aboard the enemy ship."

"Aye that might just work" A heavy Scottish accent punctuated the silence of the group before the ensign, as Montgomery Scott strode in wringing a towel through his ear.

However the eyes that fell upon him were sceptical and incredulous. Even Leonard McCoy was scowling harder than usual as he looked on Chekov.

"wait a minute kid, how old are you?"

"Seventeen sir" Chekov nodded only to be cut off abruptly by Leonard turning to Jim and snorting.

"Oh-oh good he's seventeen-"

"So am I for that matter." A young female voice cut across the older doctor's sharply "but you still don't question my hypotheses"

All faces in the room turned as Layla Pike strode forwards onto the bridge alongside a much calmer, more composed Commander Spock, who turned to address Leonard and Jim with his blank tones.

"Doctor, Mr Chekov is correct. I can confirm his telemetry. If Mr Sulu's able to manoeuvre us into position, I can beam aboard Nero's ship steal back the black hole device and if possible bring back Captain Pike"

Jim shook his head, though more out of concern than anger or spite, much to Layla's relief.

"I won't allow you to do that Mr Spock"

But Spock only quirked an eyebrow at the younger man.

"Romulan's and Vulcan's share a common ancestry. Our cultural similarities will make it easier for me to access the ship's computer to locate the device. Also my mother was human," the Vulcan added, in slightly softer tones "which makes Earth the only home I have left"

There was a small pause in which all the bridge crew went silent, their faces pensive and drained. All save Jim's, for his face was set with stubborn determination as he stepped forwards and said:

"Then I'm coming with you"

"I would cite regulation, but I know you will simply ignore it"

"See? We are getting to know each other"

Layla was willing to bet her entire arm that if Spock, could've, he would've smirked, much like Jim was doing right now as he clapped a hand on the Vulcan's shoulder.

But the new captain's smugness was short lived as he caught her eye and saw the gleam shine anew in it.

"No" he said before she could even open her mouth. "No way are you coming along"

"Like you'll have a choice in the matter.  _'_ _ **Tactical Directive 36**_ _: The Captain will not engage a hostile force without the protection of a security officer.'_ And seeing as I'm the only security officer that has seen the inside of the Enemy Ship I will be able to help you and Commander Spock navigate it" Layla scowled darkly as she jabbed a finger at the silver bands of her red shirt sleeve.

"As will I" everyone turned to see Hawke's eyes narrowed as he caught the captain's eye. "I remember the pathway to the brig. If Short Stack's dad is there I'll be able to track him"

There was a very uncomfortable pause in which Jim and Hawke both eyed one another up and down, assessing one another closely.

At first Jim had wanted to sneer, to question openly if the other male had any combat or tactical training taught to him. But one glance at that powerful stance told him that this Hawke was definitely more than qualified for the job at hand. Indeed, something about the other man that just screamed…soldier…and not just any soldier. No. This man was one of the elite, someone who could probably break his own neck with just a twitch of his fingers…a little bit like Layla…

_No Layla's a much better officer than he'll ever be!_

"Argh! Fine! Fine! Both of you are coming too" Jim growled as he shook out his head, doing his best to ignore the small smug grin on Layla's face.

Finally, they had a plan.

Finally they had a chance of winning.

_Just hold on dad, we're gonna get you out. I promise._


	15. Aggressive Negotiations

The security personnel's weapon's vault was strangely quiet as Jim Kirk, Layla Pike, Hawke and Spock all made their way to various sections, where their most favoured weapons were stocked.

For Jim and Spock it was to the standard handheld phaser blasters at their charging units, for Hawke, the rifles. Layla on the other hand stopped at the wall stocked with the blades and knives, and began to select through the entire shelf until she had picked out one of every single kind available.

She had so many on her person that even Spock for all his calm composed self, quirked a confused eyebrow at her.

"Miss Pike"

"Hmm?" Layla grunted as she stripped off her red shirt so that she could strap more knife holsters over her long fitted black undershirt and onto her protective phaser padding.

"I understand that this is a high risk mission, but is it logical for you to be carrying so much weaponry on your-"

There was a sharp whooshing sound as something bright and metallic flew through the air and straight for a wooden target board on a nearby wall.

"person…" Spock's voice trailed away as both he and Jim stared in shock at the boot knife, which had hit the bullseye dead in the centre and stuck there quivering in the air.

"To hell with logic" she snorted darkly. "I'm not going unprepared again"

She glanced round to Hawke who smirked, his grey eyes gleaming with admiration as he caught Layla's eye.

"Impressive"

"You should see me when I'm trying" Layla snorted as she made to tug the knife out of the wall and slide it into her boot.

"I'd like that" Hawke smirked softly, his eyes watching the curve of her body as she leaned over, her black pants hugging her hips and legs just rig-

"I'm sure" she smirked as she straightened up, not noticing the way Spock quirked a confused eyebrow at Jim whose face had turned oddly stony at the exchange.

When he spoke his voice was stiff and tense.

"Lay, hurry we've only got a few minutes." he held out two phasers to her and she took them, poking her tongue at him with a scowl.

"Whatever you say,  _Captain_ "

"Yeah-yeah, very mature Oh midget Chief of Security" Jim snorted.

"I'm not midget, just pe-tite!" she hissed, jabbing his chest hard with her fingers whilst doing her best not to laugh at Spock as both his eyebrows disappeared into his blunt fringe.

However even as they all made to step out of the weapons room, he spoke nothing of his true thoughts which were a swirl of confusion.

For someone who was just about to re-enter a place of hell, the young cadet sure was spritely and enthusiastic. And not only that, (and at this Spock's brow furrowed a little as his gaze wandered over her torso) but he'd been sure that in his blind rage he had hit her hard enough to send someone of her size painfully flying. And yet here she was walking and darting her way through the ship without even a twinge of pain.

Was she just hiding her pain? Or did she have a higher pain threshold than most other humans?

He would have to ask Doctor McCoy later he supposed.

But even so…he could not help but wonder-

His thoughts were interrupted by the familiar sound of his name being called and he turned just in time to see Uhura dash from a door and towards him.

"Ji-Captain" she corrected herself as she came level with the four officers. "We have received word from Engineering. They have just managed to boost our Warp Yield. Sulu and Chekov said we should be reaching the Terran Solar System space in ten minutes."

"Good, anything else?" Jim clipped his voice suddenly very stiff and formal in spite of the small scowl he was aiming sidelong at Hawke.

If Uhura noticed his mood she said nothing, instead opting to keep her professional tones as she nodded.

"Yes, Mr Scott said he'll be waiting for you at Transporter deck 2"

"Uhura," Layla piped in her voice suddenly curious "Who's manning the weapons station on the bridge?"

"Ensign Hanson and Ensign Gibson"

"Good, when you get back to the bridge tell them to keep an eye on the Deflector Shields, and make sure the Photon torpedoes and the Phaser Banks are prepped and ready to fire. Once Nero notices our presence he's gonna put up one heck of a fight"

"Right, got it" Uhura nodded firmly as she drifted across to walk with Spock, with whom she began to speak quietly in hushed tones.

Taking advantage of the Vulcan's distraction, Jim glanced at Layla. She was bearing the expression an angry bull would wear when pawing the ground before charging you down. Seriously, he could almost see the horns sprout out of her head as he quietly asked.

"Lay, are you sure you wanna do this?"

"Yes" She murmured back her teeth gritted "I'm absolutely sure"

"But if this goes wrong…" Jim sighed heavily "Lay you know I trust you with my life and I don't doubt your skill but-"

"Jim" Layla snapped her icy eyes flashing "I get it okay. You're my best friend and you don't want me to get hurt. But best friend or no, I'm still your Chief Security Officer, and I've trained for moments like these. Maybe I failed in my duty aboard that drill, but now I understand the risks, and I know what I have to do. So just do us both a favour and let me do my job"

Jim opened his mouth to speak, but then shut it hastily

"What?" Layla frowned, only to scowl as her friend ruffled her hair, much to his amusement, and much to Hawke's scorn as he glowered at the pair of them from behind.

However nobody was to notice the expression as the ship gave a small but very sudden jerk.

"Whoa, timber" Jim chuckled as Layla all but bumped into him on the way into the Transporter room.

"Not funny. And don't even think about it!" she scowled as she made to swat his hand away from where it hovered teasingly over her ruffled black hair.

"…It's good to have you back Tiger" Jim smiled patting her on the shoulder, a gesture that was noticed with amusement by Montgomery Scott, who was grinning from his spot behind the transporter's console as a man's spoke from the other end of his communicator.

"Transporter Room. We are in position above Titan"

"Really? Fine job Mr Sulu. Well done" the Scotsman nodded approvingly at the readings on his screen before him as Jim made to call out to him.

"How are we Scotty?"

"Unbelievably sir, the ship is in position" Scotty quickly coughed as the new young captain made his way over to his station and re-opened the link to the bridge.

"Whatever happens, Mr Sulu" Jim's voice was calm but firm as he spoke "if you think you have the tactical advantage, you fire on that ship, even if we're still on board. That's an order"

"Yes sir" Sulu muttered on his end, though it was clear to Jim and Scotty that the helmsman was really reluctant to agree to the order.

"Otherwise we'll contact the Enterprise when we're ready to be beamed back"

"Good luck" Sulu nodded on his end, though if he had anything else to say on the subject he didn't voice it, and so it was with a reassuring beep that the com link was closed, and Jim made his way to the transporter pad.

Layla and Hawke were both already standing in position, the former both looking stiff as boards as they studiously tried to avoid watching Spock and Uhura, who, Jim noticed were standing a bit too close to be considered normal.

No they weren't standing…they were kissing.

"What the? When did this happen?" he mouthed to Layla as he made to stand beside her. However the younger security officer only shrugged, her cheeks flushing as she chanced a peek to her friend and her ex-computer sciences professor as they broke apart to murmur in soft tones.

"I will be back" Spock's voice wavered ever so slightly, but otherwise there was no outward sign of his reluctance to go.

Uhura however was not so composed.

"You better be." She whispered "I'll be monitoring your frequencies"

"Thank you Nyota"

Now Jim really did look befuddled.

"Nyota?" He hissed again to Layla who rolled her eyes.

"Her first name dumbass!"

"Seriously?" he sighed, almost face palming to himself as he watched the communications officer quickly dash off the platform to stand behind Scotty's console, her dark eyes bright with unshed tears of worry.

Once he was sure she was out of earshot, Jim turned to Spock.

"So her name's Nyota?"

"I have no comment on the matter" Spock replied swiftly, his eyes sharp and stern on Jim who quickly snapped back to attention as Scotty announced to the room at large:

"Okey-dokey then, if there's any common sense in the design of the enemy ship, I should be putting you somewhere in the cargo bay. Shouldn't be a soul in sight"

Jim nodded in confirmation only to start as he heard Layla give the bark of an order:

"Energize"

And then in the blink of an eye, golden circles swirled around and there was black.

* * *

_"Sir! Sir! Our sensors have detected an anomaly in the Terran atmosphere"_

_"An anomaly?"_

_"Yes sir…from what readings and footage we have got already it seems to be some sort of plasma drill"_

_"A plasma drill?"_

_"Yes sir…but it's not a model approved by the Federation mining vessels, heck it looks nothing like anything we've ever seen and the ship-"_

_"Has it been activated?"_

_"No sir not yet, but we think it will soon. It's already giving off interference to our communications links."_

_"hmm… not good, definitely not good…"_

_"Sir…"_

_"What?!"_

_"um…sir… there's something else…the Enterprise, it's returned to the Sol System!"_

* * *

Cold air…loud yells of surprise…metallic clicks as weapons were drawn…

Layla Pike did not need to be able to see beyond the yellow rings that surrounded her to know that the spot they had landed…was not the right place at all.

"Shit!" she cursed as, ignoring her momentary nausea, she, Jim, Spock and Hawke all whipped out their phasers and began firing them at the Romulans that surrounded them.

She managed to tag three of the ten, only to miss the eleventh one as one of her companion's dragged her behind a console for cover.

"There are too many of them!" she heard Jim yell from beside her as he shot two romulans with his phaser.

"We don't need to beat them! We just have to lose them!" Layla yelled as she made to fire at a rogue enemy who was trying to sneak on them from the other direction.

As the Romulan man crumpled she caught sight of Spock covering Hawke's back as he dashed to a set of stairs.

"This way!" He yelled. "QUICK!"

Jim and Layla did not need telling twice. As quickly as shadows they darted between consoles and towards the stairs, which led them into another large room filled with consoles.

There were less romulans in here, but more were coming in behind them.

But Layla was quick to remedy that problem. With a quick flick of her wrist, her phaser was shot directly at a half destroyed door panel, catching the electric spark as it danced between the wires.

At once the small locking unit exploded as with a heavy metallic clang, the heavy door slid tightly shut from the ceiling to the ground.

"Now what?!" She yelled to the others as she joined them in taking down the remaining three Romulans in the room with them. Two of them went down quickly, but the third was hit twice with a blue low level stun, aimed by Jim, who turned to Spock.

"We'll cover you" he muttered quietly.

"Are you certain?" Spock quirked a brow.

"Yes, now get going! The alarms are off" Layla snapped before turning to Hawke "you watch Spock's six, and Jim-"

"I have yours" Jim nodded as he and the other young man straightened up with her to hover over Spock as he knelt beside the fallen Romulan, his hand to his face.

After a moment or two he opened his eyes, just as Hawke shot an unsuspecting Romulan who had come to investigate the room.

"Do you know where it is?" Jim muttered as he sidled close to the Vulcan. "The Black hole device?"

"Yes. And Captain Pike" Spock nodded and Layla's head snapped round, her eyes wide.

"How is he? Is he okay?"

Spock's gaze on the girl was measured and calm, but there was a stony edge to it that made her insides drop as he muttered.

"From what I saw, yes. But he also appears very much weakened"

"Is he still strapped to that slab?" Hawke's eyes narrowed.

The Vulcan nodded.

"yes he was."

Layla turned to Jim eyes wide, but even as she opened her mouth he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Go, find him. We'll catch up with you soon"

"You sure?" Layla bit her lip, but he could see her eyes turn into wells of relief even when he pushed her away.

"Positive. Now go!" he yelled as the loud thudding announced the arrival of more Romulans.

"Keep down" Hawke hissed as he and Layla both sprinted towards a ladder that led to a lower railing. She barely even had time to glance over her shoulder, fear flooding her as she saw both Spock and Jim ducking for cover to avoid getting hit.

_No! keep it together girl! they're tough, they'll make it. You all have to make it!_

She mentally slapped herself as she and Hawk both jumped down to the level below.

Once there they were met with silence, save for the voices of a Romulan's.

Oddly enough, Layla recognised the gruff tone of him at once, for it belonged to her old captor on the plasma drill.

She raised her phaser and pointed around the corner only for Hawke to push it gently down, shaking his head.

"there are guards on the other side too." He hissed quietly as he pointed out four other Romulans with their backs to them on the other side of the room.

"Pass me one of your knives"

Layla nodded, doing her best to keep herself from gagging as she watched her companion quietly stalk his way up behind the Romulan. As he did so, the knife slipped quietly down by his side.

Then, in an instant that lasted barely a second, a hand clapped over a mouth and the blade sliced clean across a throat, green blood splattering softly to the floor.

It was only by sheer will-power that Layla willed herself not to throw up then and there as Hawke silently dragged his dead victim down to the ground with barley a sound.

The other guards on the other side of the room, barely even batted an eye as they made to stalk up to the upper railings above their prey's heads, completely unaware of the loss of one of their own.

"Y-you-" Layla spluttered only for Hawke to press a hand over her mouth as the made to drag her body along with him to the door.

Once they were safely through and hidden in another corridor, she roughly shoved him off of her.

"You know a thank you wouldn't go amiss." Hawke rolled his eyes but stopped quickly at the look on Layla's face. It was paler than death warmed up and glaring fiercely.

"You didn't have to kill him" she hissed. "now once they go down to check on him, they'll know where we went"

"Yeah and if he turned round he'd have spotted us and we'd both be dead" Hawke snapped back just as viciously. "I don't know what it is with you and your stupid friends on that ship, but this is a life and death situation. If you think that you'll be able to stay alive in a job like yours by being nice and politely stunning all your enemies then you really need to have your brains checked."

"Oh so what? you're saying I should just go about killing people like I'm some sort of savage from the twentieth century!"

"It didn't stop you before…actually you seemed to quite enjoy it last I saw"

There was silence as Layla stared with wide eyes up at the man before her, who ignored her shock as he continued to hiss into her face.

"Listen here you pint-size- _princess_. Your  _savagery,_ as you call it, has been the only thing keeping you alive today and it's going to keep being your only ticket to survival for as long as you are in danger. The minute you let it go, will be the minute you die here. So either you man up, and take out these alien arses and save your dad, or you chicken out and let him die and you can then spend the rest of your miserable life crying into your dear Captain Jim's shirt like a little baby. It's your choice"

Layla's face was so red with anger it was amazing her head hadn't caught on fire.

Indeed her brain was almost pounding with the thunderous thoughts as what felt like white hot heat streak through her gut. It was a heat that made her body tingle with energy and pulse with a need so powerful that her fingers buzzed. But it wasn't the need of lust or hunger…it was the craving to take one of her many knives and shove it right up her companions arse as painfully as she could as he all but sneered in her face.

"So… _Layla_ , what's it going to be?"

Layla shook her head and growled to herself.

"Once all this is over, I'm going to take you to Bones, and I'm gonna make him stick you so full of hyposprays that you'll be begging to die!"

"Pff! I'd like to see you try" Hawke grunted as he stepped back to let her pass.

Layla however did not turn round to face him as she made to stride away from him and down the new crossways in the corridor they had come across.

Most of them were about the multiple ways she could kill the infuriating yet attractive bastard behind her then and there, whilst the rest of her brain was trying to comprehend their position.

She could sort of remember this corridor, for it was one of those she had been dragged down by Nero's crew.

_If we take a right up ahead and down a tunnel along the core cooling stations it will take us downwards the brig and interrogation chambers. If what Spock said was true, he should still be there… Tied to that slab…like a carcass to be butchered or dissected…_

She shook her head vigorously as she gripped tighter to her phaser.

No. No she wasn't going to let her fear mess with her head again, not when the cost of the mission was so high.

She was relieved to find that the pathways that she and Hawke took were mostly deserted as they meandered down through a floor flooded tunnel.

Layla could've cursed as with every step taken a splashing sound echoed over the tunnel walls.

"Jesus, for guys from the future, they sure don't have good plumbing" Hawke grunted softly as his boots were filled with cold water.

"there must be a leak some-"

 _"_ Look out!"

_Pew-pew!_

Layla barely had time to turn around when a pair of hands pushed her out of the way of two bright green killing blasts aimed from the ambushing Romulan's rifles.

She winced as she splashed head first into the watery path, struggling for air as she scrambled to get back to her feet, hot bursts of energy flying over her head as Hawke and the Romulan's fired at one another in the watery tunnel.

_Where is it? where is it?_

She flayed out wildly for her phaser only to grab hold of a decimated half of it.

But she wasn't deterred. She of all people knew that with just the right fiddling a phaser was just as good a weapon broken, as it was whole. As quick as lightning her fingers extracted and cut two of the wires embedded in the weapon, tiny electrical currents passing through them as she clicked the trigger.

"GET BACK!" She roared to Hawke as she all but jumped to her feet and threw the half-phaser at the group of attackers.

_BOOM!_

* * *

The explosion that blasted through the tunnel was so loud and so thunderous that even many corridors away that two Starfleet officers (a Vulcan and a human) both felt the tremor in the ground as they made their way to the Narada's humungous hangar bay.

"What the hell was that?" Jim looked over his shoulder, as did Spock, whose dark brow was raised high.

"I do not know. But the sound suggests that it was a kind of energy burst"

_Energy burst?_

Jim shook his head softly to himself.

No what was he doing, he needed to get to that hangar bay.

* * *

Helene Marlene Pike was not a woman easily surprised. Though her face and body looked as young as a woman in her late twenties, her mind had seen at least ten, if not more, years of events that had enriched her knowledge.

But the large loud tremble beneath her feet gave her such a shock that she actually jumped back into her desk.

_What on earth?_

Indeed what was on the earth?

She turned around quickly, strawberry blonde curls swishing about her pale face as her green eyes widened.

There outside the window was a long column of light, streaking down from the sky.

"Computer!" she yelled as she stumbled about her office, the tremors shaking her footing even as she tried to take one step forwards. "Computer what he hell is going on?"

 _"Seismic activity detected in the upper crust, at Earth sector 2"_ A female computerized voice clipped robotically.

"Yeah I can feel that" Helene muttered darkly and cursed when she saw one of her lecture PADD's fall and smash to the floor.

_There goes tomorrows' lecture…_

She thought bitterly, though it was quickly wiped from her mind when her communicator fell out of her pocket.

Her heart sank as she saw that a light on it was flashing.

She picked it up and put it to her ear.

"Pike here" she squeaked as she all but fell over again, her grip still tight on the communicator.

But there was no reply. Instead there was a lot of yelling and crashes on the other end and a voice shouting out.

_"Come on get up!"_

Helene gasped. The voice…that voice…how long since she'd heard it?

"No...but it couldn't be…"

* * *

"Come on get up!"

The voice pierced straight through Layla's ringing ears as a pair of hands swiftly tugged her up to her feet.

"Remind me not to do that again" she gasped as she retched up bile into the watery path.

"Don't worry I don't think you'll have to." Hawke grimaced as he patted her back awkwardly before grabbing hold of her shoulder.

"Come on. We only have five minutes to get out of here"

"On it" Layla rasped, wiping at her mouth. Her head was thumping and she could taste a little bit of blood from a cut in her cheek, but apart from that she felt fine, save for her legs aching horribly as she started to run.

For some reason she could not comprehend, the metallic taste in her mouth was oddly…satisfying. Even as she swallowed to rid her mouth of excess fluids she could feel something, like a shiver zip up and down her spine in continuous streams.

But this wasn't tremors of fear.

No…

It was tremors of excitement…of thrill…

Of very  _familiar_  enjoyment…

The thought was so staggering that she almost stopped dead in her tracks, but the feeling of the phaser in her hand kept her going.

_Just keep concentrating! Dad's in trouble-he needs you._

She told herself firmly but still she could feel her fingers trembling from the shock of her revelation

Down one corridor, then another, then suddenly cold air hit her face as she and Hawke both ran into an open space.

Her heart soared as she recognised it at once. It was the main bridge. The place Nero had first questioned her.

And there just beyond a few consoles was a familiar door.

"Dad" she whispered.

Forgetting the pain in her legs or the thumping of her head she balked forwards only to be pulled back as a green blast hurtled her way.

"Well, well, well. Look who's come back" a voice sneered and she turned quickly to see none other, than the Romulan man that had captured her on the drill, step forwards to stand between her and her father's body energy rifle raised to point at her head.

She felt Hawke tense up beside her but he didn't fire as many other Romulan's with phasers seemed to appear from all around them.

"You know it's a pity you never stayed longer little girl" the first Romulan hissed softly "Your father wasn't very co-operative when you were gone."

"He wouldn't have been co-operative even if I was there" There were titters and snorts of chuckles from the other Romulans around her, but Layla ignored them, eyes narrowing on the one before her as she did her best to keep the red veil of anger clouding her vision

"Oh I doubt that." The lead Romulan leered "Human parents are especially self-sacrificing when something they love is in danger"

"the only person in danger here is you assholes" Layla's eyes narrowed "and as far as I can see, you're severely out matched"

"by whom?" the romulan snorted, but Layla could see in his eyes a slight flicker of anxiety in his dark eyes. "you and your little partner are only two and we are ten. What makes you think you can beat us"

"Because quantity is no guarantee for quality" Layla smirked. "And speaking about numbers…"

Hawke blinked, eyes widening in shock as he watched the Romulan to their side reel backwards from the sheer force of the small pale fist shoved straight between his eyes.

He had not seen Layla move, such was the speed of her body as she all but pummelled the alien man's face clean in, before grabbing onto his phaser rifle which she fired twice, hitting two other Romulans squarely in the chest.

"three down, seven to go" she growled to Hawke who grinned.

"Good shot"

"pff! That was kids play birdbrain" Layla snapped as she shot down another Romulan only to lunge at another and break his arm.

_But this isn't_

Her lips quirked upwards in a small smirk as the ninth romulan went down from a solid punch to the jaw, leaving behind the squad leader…her prey standing before them his eyes full of fear.

"What…what are you?" he stammered as he took a step back.

"Someone you shouldn't call a little girl" Layla snarled and then swiftly she kicked.

The phaser rifle flew out of the Romulan's hands, but he didn't notice it's absence.

_Thunk!_

There was a deafening silence as the Romulan suddenly swayed where he stood, smoke and blood both gushing from the point in-between his eyes where the phaser blast had hit him, point blank.

"Well what do you know…" Hawke muttered eyebrows raised to Layla as she lowered the phaser face cold and eyes icy. "The little kitten does have some bite after all"

"Keep talking like that and I'll show you bite jackass!"

Hawke barely had time to register the harsh tones as her small shoulder slammed painfully into his side as she brushed past him.

_Man… For a tiny thing she sure hits hard…_

He grimaced as he rubbed his arm, and yet in spite of himself his lips quirked upwards in a small smirk as he watched her poke her head around a corner.

_And yet she's almost just like-_

"Hey!" Hawke called but already Layla was streaking ahead and back into an even bigger space. littered with tall platforms with high drops, where three figures were standing, both of them very far away from where both the rescuers had just appeared.

Two of them were darkly clad tall, pointy eared tattooed Romulans, one of them standing guard and holding a phaser whilst the other who had very familiar grim and sallow face, stood over a figure lying on the ground.

"I know your face from Earth's history"

"Jim…" Layla breathed, her eyes widening to the size of dinner plates, as she watched Nero advance on her friend who spluttered on his back as he was hoisted up and thrown away like trash in a bin.

She began to run forwards, ignoring Hawke's loud yells behind her as she quickly switched her phaser from kill to stun. Even with her good aim, Nero and Jim were still too far away to get a clear shot and she did not want to miss, or worse hit the wrong target.

Her heart hammered as she ran, her legs just running on autopilot whilst her eyes remained transfixed to the ever horrible sights and sounds of her friend's body being bashed and hit, over and over again.

_Hold on Jim I'm almost there!_

She winced as she saw a small splash of both red and green blood fly out as both romulan and human thrashed at one another, only for the latter to be thrown on the floor again.

"James T. Kirk was considered to be a great man" Nero hissed as he made to wrap his hands around Jim's throat and squeeze it hard "He went on to captain the U.S.S. Enterprise. But that was another life. A life I will deprive you of, just like I did your father-"

"Not on my wat-whoa!" Layla squeaked as she grabbed onto a nearby console to steady herself, as suddenly the around her shook, a loud groaning and crashing sound reverberating off the walls as a computerized voice sounded.

"Captain Nero. The Vulcan ship has been taken. The drill has been destroyed"

Nero's face contorted.

"SPOCK!" he all but roared to the room around him "SPOCK!"

Layla could have jumped for joy then and there had she not been so unstable on her feet. Indeed even as she got back up to run a grin spread across her face.

_Spock you mother f-ing son of a gun!_

She all but laughed breathlessly, only to startle as she watched Nero suddenly turn heel and literally jump off the platform above her and onto a lower one.

She would have run after him, god knows how much she wanted to run after that murdering crazy sonofabitch, but the sight of the Romulan captain's lackey striding forwards to take his place before Jim wiped all thoughts of vengeance from her mind in a heart-beat.

"JIM!" she yelled as she did her best to dodge out from behind her cover just in time to see Jim jump off from above and straight towards her.

"Layla look out!" He cried.

She leapt back just in time for him to land only to cry out as a blast of heat hit her squarely in the shoulder, sending her flying backwards as Jim slipped the other way to struggle at the edge of the platform.

"Lay!" he called but sputtered as a large shadowy hand reached down and grabbed him by his already sore throat. It was Nero's guard and he sneered triumphantly into the young Starfleet officers face as he lifted him high into the air above so that his feet dangled over the deadly, endless drop below.

"Your species is even weaker than I expected" the romulan hissed his fingers grasping even tighter at his prey's neck as he struggled for air. "you can't even speak"

Jim gasped for air, his eyes momentarily glancing over his adversaries shoulder to where his best friend was struggling weakly to her elbows.

Not for the first time today a wave of guilt and frustration washed over him as he watched her raise her head, icy eyes full of fear as she all but managed to raise herself to her knees, desperate to push herself towards her phaser. But no matter how hard she tried, Jim knew that she wouldn't be able to fire…not without the Romulan dropping him into oblivion first.

"Bast-ard…" Jim choked breathlessly glaring back into the sneering face of the Romulan that had him in his clutches. "I-I-"

"I what?" the Romulan snorted.

"I got your gun"

There was the sound of a shot being fired, but it was oddly muffled by a loud squelching crunch as an energy blast made point blank contact with un-protected flesh.

But Jim wasn't interested in the quality or effect of his shot. His only concern was of the sudden loss of the hand that had once been around his neck.

_Oh crap!_

He barely had time to blink before his body dropped again beside the platform, only this time he knew in a split second that he hadn't a chance at grabbing at salvation.

Needless to say he was very surprised to feel his body jerk to a stop mid fall as a pair of small pale hands suddenly grabbed hard at his wrist.

"Hold on Jim" Layla grunted as with a tremendous effort she heaved on her friend's arm and pulled him upwards.

As she pulled Jim was quick to notice the red that was dribbling down from a deep burn in shoulder.

"Lay" he grunted but Layla just growled.

"Just shut up-ungh!" her grip tightened almost painfully as her shoulder throbbed horribly, more blood dribbling from her shoulder as the muscles in it made to twitch with the effort. But Layla didn't care, all she could focus on was the hand in both of hers that she was pulling on.

It was a hard slog, one which she almost wouldn't have been able to manage at all if Hawke hadn't jumped down to them a few seconds later, his strong arm grabbing quickly onto Jim's other one.

Quickly they slid him up onto the platform where he struggled up to his hands and knees, panting and gasping as he rubbed his sore bruised throat.

"Thanks" he puffed, sparing a small smirk for Layla who smirked (or rather grimaced) back.

"Anytime"

"Hate to break this little happy reunion" Hawke snorted "but we should probably get out of here soon"

"Right" Jim nodded, though Layla noticed there was a lot less hostility in his tones or his glances to the other male, who only gave a curt nod before re-arming himself with a phaser rifle.

Jim followed suit as did Layla, who winced as she moved her injured shoulder.

"I'll be fine" she snapped irritably before Jim could even open his mouth.

"You're bleeding" Jim deadpanned in return, though inwardly he cringed at the sight of her. what had once been a clean and crisp security officer was now a young girl with messy damp black hair and a torn up, burnt, singed and green and red bloodstained uniform and face, which scowled even harder at his disturbed expression.

"Dad's close" she pointed to a doorway just a little way away from where they were standing. "The interrogation room should be through there"

"Right" Jim nodded as they cautiously began to step off the platform and back onto the solid deck of the ship.

"Kirk to Enterprise" he hissed into his communicator and was relieved to hear the familiar beep of an open channel. "Commander Spock has disarmed the drill, Hawkins, Layla and I almost have Captain Pike. We'll contact you to beam us out when we find him. Kirk out"

It was a very tense going, barely anything seemed to stir in this part of the ship, especially once they'd made their way down into the very dark, very watery chamber below.

Layla shuddered as she recognised the dark space around her. It was almost exactly the same as she'd remembered it being all those hours ago…except for the two Romulan guards stationed on either side of a large slab.

The shots from Hawke and Jim were quick and decisive and in no time did the two enemies drop to the floor like stones in a pond.

"Dad" Ignoring the stinging of cold air on her wounded shoulder, Layla rushed over to the slab the two guards once stood over and her heart all but sank in her chest.

There he was, Christopher Pike her tough grizzly but strong father laying on his back, his arms, legs and chest bound tightly as he struggled to look at her, his face slack and weak with fatigue.

"Layla? What…how…" he breathed, his dazed eyes vaguely focused on Layla's face as she leaned down to undo one of his bonds.

"It's okay dad, we're gonna get you out of here" Layla tugged quickly on a thick rope like restraint around his waist promptly ripping it clean apart.

For a second Christopher looked stunned but then when the other restraints on his arms were pulled away he gave a small smile.

"I forgot you could do that" He muttered quietly, his voice hoarse as he turned to see Jim and Hawke run up to his slab.

"What are you all doing here?"

"Just following orders" Jim grinned as he made to help Layla take off the bindings over his Captain's legs.

But even as he bent down to reach for the material, Christopher's arm shot out and grabbed his phaser from his belt and shot it straight over his shoulder towards the door, whilst at the same time Hawke fired his own weapon.

Layla and Jim both looked up just in time to see their potential attacker at the door drop quickly to the ground just as Christopher all but fell backwards in exhaustion.

But that was not the worst of it.

There was a great big crash overhead and Layla squeaked in surprise as she almost fell backwards into the watery interrogation floor.

"What the hell-" Hawke narrowed his eyes as he looked above only to duck as what looked like something large and metallic crashed through above them.

"Kirk to Enterprise, beam us out now!" Kirk yelled as he grabbed at a still very weak Christopher and half dragged him away from the slab.

Eyes shut, Layla barely felt a person grab her arm tightly, or the warm chest she was shoved into as beams of swirling energy consumed them in a whir of colour and light.

The next thing she knew a solid stable ground hit her feet and a voice was hissing loudly in jubilation from a few feet away.

She opened her eyes and promptly laughed out loud for joy as she caught sight of the familiar clean white interior of a U.S.S. Enterprise's transportation room.

"Nice timing Scotty!" she heard Jim call out from beside her and sure as eggs the Scotsman's familiar accent whooped noisily through the room.

"I've never beamed five people from two targets onto one pad before!"

_Five?_

Layla peered around Jim, and her father and her grin widened even more as she caught sight of the back of a blue shirt, a clean black head and very pointed pale ears.

Spock noticing her glance caught her eye and nodded once in affirmation, and for a moment she was certain she saw the tiniest hint of a smirk creep up the Vulcan's lips. but it was quick to turn into a frown of confusion as the brown eyes travelled above her head.

Layla blinked and turned round, only to find herself looking closely into a pair of stormy grey eyes.

"uh…hi" she gulped, feeling an intense heat flare up in her cheeks.

"hi…" Hawke mumbled, his own cheeks also flaming red as Layla made to open her mouth to speak…only to be cut short by a loud gruff voice.

"JIM! LAYLA!"

"BONES!" both Jim and Layla cried out as none other than Doctor Leonard McCoy all but stampeded into the transporter room, followed closely by a flock of five other nurses and medical personnel who instantly swooped on Christopher Pike, who was barely standing even in Jim's secure grip.

"I got him" the doctor panted as Jim deposited his captain into his friend's arms.

"Come on!" he called to Spock, Hawke and Layla who were quick to follow, the lattermost swatting a couple of nurses away from her.

"I'll come by later, just help my dad! That's an order!" she yelled and at once the nurses squeaked and bustled off to help Leonard with his new patient.

Layla knew she shouldn't have yelled, but she did not really care much for anything as she followed Jim and the others all the way up to the bridge, where they were greeted by a very much relieved and happy Chekov.

"Captain, the enemy ship is losing power! Their shields are down sir" the navigator exclaimed to the room at large from his console.

"Hail them now" Jim growled through gritted teeth as he led his little group to stand just before the viewing screen on which an amazing, but terrible sight, greeted them.

The Narada, the mammoth sized ship was being sucked into a big gaping hole.

Layla gasped as she beheld it in her gaze. She had often seen depictions of black holes in her text books but nothing could compare to the sight before her today. It was like the great mouth of a giant monster, sucking and swallowing everything and anything in its path and into an empty void.

The Narada looked so small against it as its many solid tentacle like limbs were crushed as easily as glass under a hammer, the bright flames of explosions flashing briefly before even they were sucked into the black hole's heart.

Then suddenly the image was gone, and a scratchy blurred image of Nero's pale gaunt and sallow face filled her vision.

The sight was enough to make her almost reach for her phaser again, but she was stopped by a hand grabbing her shoulder.

It was Jim's, and though he looked just as furious as she felt, his voice was calm as he spoke.

"This is Captain James T. Kirk of the U.S.S. Enterprise. Your ship is compromised. You're too close to the singularity to survive without assistance which we are willing to provide."

Layla blinked and looked around the room.

Did Jim just say what she thought he'd said.

She exchanged a glance with Spock, who likewise looked confused even as he turned his back to the screen murmur privately:

"Captain what are you doing?"

"Showing them compassion" Jim hissed quietly ignoring the way Layla and Hawke both rolled their eyes silently. "it may be the only way to earn peace with Romulus. It's logic Spock, I thought you'd like that"

"no not really, not this time" Spock shook his head, catching Layla's eye to her surprise. "to quote Lieutenant Pike,  _to hell with logic_ "

Layla grinned, but her eyes were quick to narrow as Nero's distorted image made to speak again, his voice filled with the venom and hate of a man with a hundred years of vengeance.

"I would rather suffer the end of Romulus a thousand times. I would rather die in agony, then accept assistance from  _you_ "

"You got it" Jim smirked just as the feed cut dead with the other ship. "Arm Phasers, fire everything we've got" he called to the rest of his crew.

"Yes sir!" the bridge all cried out in unison.

"Buckle up birdbrain, it's going to be one hell of a show!" Layla grabbed Hawke quickly as she made her way towards the weapons station where two empty consoles were waiting ready for her to use.

"Listen up ladies you got one good target, don't waste it!" she called through her comm link to the other weapons stations.

"Yes mam!" she heard the voices of several men bark out from the other end as well as from beside her.

Hawke meanwhile was gripping his seat tightly as the emergency belts slid out from the seats to tighten up around their passengers, holding them securely in place as the ship began to rumble and shake from the sheer barrage of weapons being fired.

"Lieutenant Pike we have phaser cannons ready" she heard ensign Hanson call beside her loudly over the hubbub.

"Fire at will" Jim called from his spot at the captain's chair. "We've almost got 'em"

"Already on it!" Layla pressed the firing button her eyes whipping around to watch through the bridge window as the Narada slowly but surely, slid back into the black hole.

In spite of her anger at the Romulan vessel, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity. Not for Nero, but at least for his crew, or rather the crew she had not met in combat.

How many lives had that madman sacrificed just for his revenge? All for nothing…for a future for him that will now never exist thanks to his interference…all those lives lost…

She was brought out of her reverie by Jim's loud call from the Captian's chair.

"Sulu take us out now!"

"Aye Captain" Sulu called as he pressed down hard on a lever to his left. At once the ship began to bank left the view screen's vision turning from the black hole and into the beautiful peaceful realm of outer space…that was oddly becoming more distant with each passing moment.

"Shit" she swore, her heart sinking as realization, horrible realization set in, replacing victory with the all too familiar sensation of fear as they were sucked backwards into the gaping black chasm behind them.

"Why aren't we at warp?" Jim yelled, over the increasingly loud humming of the ship as it was slowly dragged backwards.

"We are sir!" Chekov called.

"It's just too-the mass!" Sulu grunted as he pushed harder at the lever before him, as if the mere minute force and willpower in his hand would somehow push the ship forwards.

"Kirk to Engineering!" Jim called through the com link in his chair. "Get us out of here Scotty"

" _You bet your arse Captain_!" Scotty's voice all but screeched through the link, " _Captain, we're caught in the gravity well, it's got us!_ "

"Go to maximum warp! Push it!" Jim yelled as the metal coverings of the bridge room groaned and creaked ominously as gravity made to press in from all sides.

" _I'm giving her all she's got Captain!_ "

"All she's got isn't good enough, what else you got?!" Jim barked over all the noise of breaking material and frantic panic around him.

" _Okay, if we eject the core and detonate the blast could be enough to push us away I cannae promise anything though!"_

"Jesus Christ!" Layla cried out as a large crack suddenly split loudly into being right above hers and Hawke's heads, just as many more appeared around the ceiling and even the very thick viewport glass.

"DO IT! DO IT! DO IT!" Jim yelled.

There was silence on the other end of the link, but Layla was sure she heard several small metallic clunks and a grunt from the Scottish engineer for the smallest moment.

She shut her eyes tight as a red alert warning flashed on the screen of her console, unable to watch as memories of the past week flashed over her minds eye.

Being at the academy… bickering and joking with Jim and Leonard as assignments piled up…going back to her parents flat for the weekend…her mother cooking dinner for her and her father…

Her mother…

It had only been two days since she had last seen her, but already it felt like a lifetime ago.

Would she know even now where her daughter and husband were…would she get to know in the future? What would happen to her once they were gone?

Was she safe at home back on earth?

"I love you mom," Layla whispered softly to herself, as she gripped the base of her seat and shut her eyes even tighter, so tight that her eyes seemed almost glued shut even as light burst all around her, and piercing straight through her eyelids.

The ship hummed, its entire hull shaking and trembling with the force of the explosion behind it, the people and machinery inside rattling around like glitter in a snow-globe.

"HOLD ON TIGHT!" she heard Hanson yell beside her as he gripped hard at his console, the skin on his face pulled back by the sheer gravitational force being exerted at that moment.

Layla did not need any telling twice and wildly reached out with a hand to grab something on her console.

She eventually found something, or rather, someone's hand and clenched it tight, not caring who or what it belonged to as she held on for dear life.

This was it…either they were pushed out back into the safe void of space…or they were crushed by a black hole…

_What a way to go…_

She couldn't help but think as she squeezed the hand in hers tighter.

The hand in return squeezed back just as hard, its larger fingers trembling over hers as they laced together for a more secure grip.

And then suddenly without any warning, they all lurched forwards.

The force of the great push was so great that Layla's eyes burst open, as she all but jerked violently in her seat, her body only held back by the safety harness on her seat.

The hand she was holding still gripped onto her tightly as the ship began to suddenly speed forwards as, like a stone from a child's slingshot, they were rapidly flung forwards into a black calm void of space.

There was silence as all members of the bridge crew stared out ahead at their cracked view screen, through which they could see the rest of the ship, accelerate away, it's mass propelled forwards in the empty vacuum as normal physics intended.

Then there was a collective exhale of breath, one that made sighs appear over the mouths of everyone's faces.

The first one to break the silence was Jim, who was still sitting in the Captain's chair and grinning from ear to ear, his blue eyes wells of relief as he looked over his crew and chuckled breathlessly.

As his gaze swept over everyone present, they each relaxed in their seats, each one letting out sighs or sounds of relief ranging from grins to groans of exhaustion.

"We're alive…We're bloody alive" Layla let out a breathless laugh as her body all but sank in her chair. However she was stopped from going too far by the grip on her hand.

She looked up, and felt heat flare up in her cheeks as she caught Hawke's eye.

He was eyeing her curiously, his eyes never leaving her face even as his grip relaxed on her limb. She couldn't pinpoint what it was…but there was something about the gaze that was different. It was as if he was looking at her for the first time and noticing something she couldn't see.

She was distracted from her thoughts as she heard Chekov's small laugh of relief behind her as Jim motioned to Sulu tiredly.

"Mister Sulu…set us on a course back to earth…and Lay… Lieutenant Pike…" he turned towards Layla his grin softening as he beheld her in his gaze "Call off all emergency security measures. And get yourself down to medical"

Layla rolled her eyes but smiled fondly all the same.

"Aye, will do... Captain Kirk"


	16. The Wind Down

"Oh man! What a day" James Tiberius "Jim" Kirk, sighed heavily as he flumped down on the long couch in his new quarters.

It was a big space with luxurious furniture (being a captain did come with some perks after all), but none of that mattered to him. At the moment all he wanted was to sit and stay in this position for the rest of his life because by god he was feeling exhausted.

He listened intently to the sound of the shower that was functioning behind his bathroom door, and of the woman singing softly in it.

_I can't stop this feelin'_

_Deep inside of me_

_Girl, you just don't realise,_

_What you do to me_

"ah…that's the stuff" the young captain smiled as he sank back into the chair, his eyes shutting gently as the soothing voice all but lulled him into a daze.

_When you hold me,_

_In your arms so tight_

_You let me know_

_Everythin's all right_

_Well something must have gone right today_

His smile widened as the girl suddenly belted out.

_I~I~I'm hooked on a feeling_

_I'm high on believing_

_That you're in love with me_

_Wow…twentieth century karaoke? Now I know she's happy!_

Not that Jim could blame her.

For the past week, Layla Serena Pike had been anything but happy.

True their quick and heroic escape from the Narada and the black hole had perked up her shaken confidence. But the fact of the matter remained, that her much-beloved step-father Christopher Pike still had a long way to go in his recovery from the torture Nero had inflicted upon him.

Against all the odds Leonard "Bones" McCoy and his surgical team had managed to extract the Centauri slug from the traumatised man's spine. On the upside, it meant that Christopher had a ninety-eight percent rate of recovery. On the downside, he might never be able to be as active a captain as he once was.

The news had come as a real blow to Layla, to hear her step-father's hopes of being captain of the Enterprise during the new five-year missions were practically dashed. True, Christopher's courage and valour had finally earned him the long-awaited promotion to Admiral, but it had been one of Layla's dreams, to be able to serve alongside her father in the call of duty, to prove herself an excellent officer to him day in day out on a starship…to make him proud.

Of course, anyone could clearly see that she'd already accomplished such a feat. And in any case both her mother and step-father already loved her to the ends of the earth.

Which just begged the question to Jim.

Why was his best friend so determined to continue to prove herself worthy of something she was already worthy of?

_No…don't bring it up now…too tired…talk tomorrow morning._

Jim chastised himself as he yawned. Forget his bed. This couch was almighty comfortable enough.

He had just about kicked off his boots and was raising his legs to rest on the low coffee table when the ship's computer suddenly sprang to life.

"Captain a mister Andrew Hawkins here to see you."

Jim groaned.

Great…just what he needed today.

With a huff, he swung up to his feet and trudged over to the door which he admitted to open.

His scowl intensified as he caught sight of a familiar head of white blonde hair with stormy grey eyes that were wide with surprise as he took in the captain's form.

"Kirk" he nodded briskly

"Hawkins" Jim clipped folding his arms. "What do you want?"

"I came to see Layla. Your crew said she was bunking with you" Hawke coughed, his cheeks dusting ever so slightly pink as he tried to peek over Jim's shoulder, only for Jim to block his view completely.

"She's in the shower. But if you want I can take a message" Jim's voice was barely holding back a snarl.

He couldn't help himself. Every time he even looked at this guy he felt on the edge like he was an animal trying to protect his turf from a predator…a predator who just so happened to have his eyes for his best friend.

It didn't help his mood when he saw Hawke's nostril's twitch ever so slightly, almost as if he were smelling the hostility hovering over the cold air-conditioned threshold.

When the younger man finally spoke, it was in dangerous dark tones.

"Actually, I'd prefer to talk to her personally myself. Now if you'll excuse me-"

He reached forward to brush past, but Jim blocked him again this time a growl escaping his tight jaw.

" _You_  are not going anywhere near her."

"Why? Are you that threatened  _Captain Kirk_ " Hawke sneered into his face. "Afraid I'll take your precious little bodyguard from you? Afraid she'll drop you once she sees what a real man is capable of-"

"Why you little-" Jim reached out, his fingers all but clenching tight around the younger man's black shirt. Not that it frightened Hawke much. His sneer just widened considerably.

"Ohh…wow captain, resorting to violence to threaten me. I feel so  _scared._ "

He was cut off by the hand on his scruff tightening and Jim's snarl.

"Listen here jackass. Layla's smart enough to take care of herself and I trust her judgement, but I that still doesn't mean I trust  _you_. Now seeing that you did help us on the Narada, I'm willing to let you run free on this ship for the time being. But let me warn you. You are still on my turf. If you overstep your bounds, put one toe out of line, hurt my crew or hurt my friends, or disobey a direct order, then you'll be in the brig faster than this ship can fly. Also, unlike the others on this ship, I know exactly what your type is like, and I know all your tricks, and I'm not gonna let you hurt my best friend just because you're looking for some  _fun_. So when I say stay away from Layla, you  _stay away_  from her. Are we clear?"

"…as  _crystal_ " Hawke clipped, but was distracted quickly as footsteps suddenly made themselves heard approaching them.

"Captain?"

Both young men turned, as Commander Spock stopped in his tracks, eyeing them both with an impassive face.

"Commander Spock. What can I do for you?" Jim coughed as he dropped his hands quickly from Hawke's scruff and stepped back.

If Spock made any indication he had noticed the gesture, he made no comment, save for the quirked brow he offered Jim

"I was hoping to talk to you, Captain Kirk." The Vulcan corrected himself promptly and smartly "An important matter has arisen that requires your attention. However-" Spock glanced sharply at Hawke who stiffened as those brown eyes burned into him "-if the time is inconvenient I can wait for-"

"No! No it's alright" Hawke coughed as he swiftly stepped back from the Vulcan hybrid, his gaze now wary "I was just leaving anyway. Good evening Commander,  _Captain_ " he added venom lacing his voice as he locked glares with Jim, whose knuckles were now white as he kept them clenched tight by his sides.

As soon as the younger man was far off down the corridor, Jim allowed himself to deflate a little, his back sagging as he relaxed his posture.

"I really don't like that guy" he muttered, angrily glaring as the head of pale gold hair disappeared around a corner.

"While I have had very few interactions with Mister Hawkins he does seem to project a rather aggressive air for a human male of his age. Though that may just be a result of his feelings of rivalry between the two of you, especially when it concerns Cadet Pike." Spock's eyebrows rose in Jim's direction.

"You heard everything huh?" Jim sighed, running a hand over his face.

"Yes, though accidentally eavesdropping was never my intention." Spock began, but Jim just waved him off.

"It's alright. Actually, I'm glad you came around when you did. If you hadn't I might have…well…you know…" Jim shook his head. "Listen why don't you come in. If we're gonna stay up all night chatting, we might as well be comfortable."

Spock bobbed his head courteously as he followed his captain into his quarters.

When he heard the soft singing issuing from the bathroom, he tilted his head curiously, and Jim allowed himself a small snort as he secured his room with the lock pad.

"Layla's in the bath. But she should finish up soon."

"I see" Spock nodded thoughtfully as he tore his eyes away from the bathroom door.

Jim frowned as he caught sight of the oddly concerned gleam in the usually emotionless eyes.

"So what is it that's so urgent that it needs my attention Mister Spock."

"I have been to check with Doctor McCoy about Captain Pike's condition. It has come to my attention that the surgery was a success -"

"Yeah Layla knows already" Jim smirked glancing at the door just as a voice suddenly called out:

"Jim! OY JIM! Could you pass me my-Oh forget it you lazy ass, I'll-Commander Spock?"

Both Spock and Jim turned to see Layla standing on the threshold of the bathroom wearing nothing but her towel and a look of surprise on her face.

She pulled her coverings tighter over her petite body, and Jim was indeed glad that he had chased off Hawke when he had. Though he only saw her as a dear friend, even he, Jim, couldn't deny her attractiveness. To do so would be as ridiculous as saying that the moon wasn't a satellite of earth.

"Lieutenant Pike" Spock nodded stiffly, as he took in her surprise. "Forgive me for the intrusion."

"No, it's okay." Layla coughed awkwardly "It's my fault, I forgot to bring my change of clothes into the bathroom since Jim and I are uh-um bunking... So what brings you here Commander?"

"As it so happens you are the reason I'm here Lieutenant." Spock stood up and handed her a datapad. "Your history thesis. Full marks."

"Huh?" Layla blinked as she took the pad, being very careful to keep her towel wrapped tight around her with one hand. "Wait…you…you marked it?"

"Of course. You did submit it for re-evaluation did you not?"

"I did…wait hold on a second" she frowned as she quickly dashed behind a changing screen, but not before shoving the datapad into Jim's bewildered hands.

"Wait isn't this your Eugenics thesis? The one-"

"The one Commander Novella refused to mark for supposedly  _moral reasons_. Yeah, that one." Layla grunted as she pulled her head through her sleeping T-shirt.

"Though I understand while some humans may feel uncomfortable discussing such a topic, I fail to see why Commander Novella was so adamant about not assessing your writing. The reasons she gave in her initial report in relation are surprisingly feeble in contrast to her usually sound judgement." Spock stated calmly, turning his back on the screen to give her more privacy.

"It is clear to see in your syntax that you have distanced yourself from the topic sufficiently enough to see the facts from multiple perspectives."

"You can thank my mother for that" Layla shrugged rolling her eyes as she came out from behind the screen, in a black sleeping shirt and grey sleeping pants. "If I couldn't write that well she would've disowned me years ago. Just kidding" she added at Spock's quirked brow.

"Speaking of professor Pike, she has been trying to contact you on your personal communicator for quite a while."

"Shit! I forgot I left it with Leonard in his office before we jumped." Layla cursed under her breath. "she hasn't heard from dad or I since we first took off, she'll be worried sick-"

"Your friend doctor McCoy has taken the call on your behalf. He has assured her that you and your father are both fine and that you will call her when you wake up from resting. She was anxious." Spock's voice softened ever so slightly.

Jim's smirk fell a little as he caught sight of the small flash of sadness in his first officer's brown eyes.

He'd almost forgotten in the wake of their victory, of the personal losses suffered in the wake of this mission. Not just Spock's mom, but also of the many upstanding officers on the other fleet ships destroyed by Nero, many of whom had been friends or family to his own crew.

He was pulled out of his reverie as the Commander quietly cleared his throat and pulled on his standard blank face.

"I believe it is getting late, and I too must retire and get rest before tomorrows shift. Goodnight Captain…Cadet Pike, while you have attained top marks in your thesis, I should advise you to still review the comments and critique for future reference." he nodded briskly and quickly strode towards the door.

"Spock-Spock wait" Jim tried calling, but the door had already slid shut behind the Vulcan's back.

"Jim it's okay, he just needs time" Layla put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It's been a rough few days for all of us."

"I know…it's just…when I took command from him, I said a lot of things about his mom. And now I'm here in the captain's quarters instead of him…" he looked around at the large spacious living area.

Layla followed his gaze, her face sad as she caught sight of the photograph of her family that stood on the bedside table next to the large bed. She had been but ten when it had been taken, at her step-father's commendation ceremony for Captaincy. She remembered how excited and how proud she and her mother had been for the promotion…and the dangerous mission he had gone on that had insured it.

"Why couldn't you be my real father?" She muttered as she picked the picture frame up in her hands.

"Well, for one thing, I'm only twenty-five-" Jim snorted trying to relieve the tension, but his face was tired to do anything but grimace.

Regardless his joke worked as Layla smiled weakly and gently rolled her eyes.

"I know it sounds stupid. But sometimes I wish I was Dad's kid by blood if only so I could be a proper donor if ever he needed the help" she muttered tracing the face of the man in the photo.

She felt a warm arm around her shoulders and leaned into Jim's bare side-wait bare?

"I'm going for my shower. You can go to sleep if you want," Jim explained regarding her quirked brow as he gave her shoulders an affectionate squeeze before detaching himself and trudging to the bathroom.

Layla nodded and quickly ordered the lights to be lit twenty-five percent, so that the room was just light enough to see in but dim enough to make one drowsy.

She was quick to slide under the covers of the Captain's bed setting the photograph down on the bedside table so that it faced her.

She stared at it as she lay her tired head on the pillow, unable to shut her eyes as she stared at the image thoughtfully.

While she and her mother had some noticeable similarities, such as the same petite build, gentle noses and similar smiles, she and her stepfather couldn't be more different. He was rugged, straight-jawed, brunette with honest dark eyes that were friendly to most they looked upon. Layla, on the other hand, had defined high cheekbones, raven black hair that stood out starkly against her stubbornly pale skin and pale icy eyes, that so often than not made people nervous around her as they pierced through everything she looked at.

Her mother had said that she looked a lot like her birth father, whom she had never met. She had never even seen even a picture of him, but oddly enough she knew that if she resembled him so closely, he must've been quite a formidable figure, especially since her mother had also said he had been well over six feet tall.

Her mother had said that she looked a lot like her birth father, whom she had never met. She had never even seen even a picture of him, but oddly enough she knew that if she resembled him so much, he must've been quite a formidable figure, especially since her mother had also said he had been well over six feet tall.

_Trust me to get the short genes._

Layla frowned to herself in the dark as she remembered the one and only conversation she'd ever had with her mother about her birth father. She'd been ten years old and had been crying in her bedroom after getting into trouble at school for punching an older boy in the face. He'd been making fun of the fact that she had looked nothing like her step-father and had, in turn, started insulting her mother.

Layla had always known since she was old enough to speak, that the man she had called Dad wasn't her real father, but it still made her angry enough to shatter that twerp's nose, and yell at her mother for never telling her anything about her birth father.

"You're still awake?" Jim's voice cut through her thoughts in the dark.

Layla blinked and suddenly became aware of the dip in the mattress on the other side of the bed where Jim had just sidled into, dressed in a T-shirt and boxers.

It wasn't often they were forced to bunk together. The last time they'd done so had been during that survival class camp the previous year, where she and he had to share his tent so that her actual tentmate, Louise, could have a secret rendezvous with her boyfriend in the tent she and Layla were supposed to be sharing. The arrangement had ended up being permanent for the rest of the trip as Louise and her then partner ended up all over one another nearly every night like rabbits in heat.

"Can't sleep. Too many thoughts in my head," she grumbled as she rolled over onto her back as he turned over to face her.

"About what?" his smirk softened before gently commanding "Light's zero percent"

"About Louise and the tent" she snorted, and Jim chuckled tiredly as they were bathed in darkness.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. How on earth did we ever fit in there? I mean that thing was just a single. Thank god this bed is a king size."

"Yeah, maybe I won't get suffocated by your arm again when you try to spoon me" Layla snorted, and he rolled his eyes.

"That was one time and only because it was freezing. Otherwise, I was a gentleman."

"True." She conceded with a yawn though she still couldn't find it in her to go to sleep.

Jim too seemed wide awake and concerned as he looked at her, his eyes adjusting to the darkness.

"Lay, what's up? Something's obviously eating at you."

"It's nothing" she sighed softly as she looked up at the darkened ceiling. "Just thinking about something stupid."

"Like what?" he shifted nervously on his pillow. He could sense her apprehension rolling off her in waves.

He hadn't seen her looking so rattled since that moment on Nero's drill over Vulcan.

When she spoke, her voice wavered slightly.

"I've received a promotion to lieutenant-commander."

"It's about time" Jim smirked, only to cough as she fixed him with an irritable stare. "Sorry, so you've got this promotion but…"

"but…I've also received a job offer…from Starfleet Intelligence," Layla mumbled.

"Starfleet intelligence?" Jim's eyebrows rose into his messy hairline. "Shit…that's…that's Wow. Only best of the best operatives get positions with them."

"I know." she gulped not quite meeting his eye as she sat up and leaned on her curled up knee. "But it's not so much a job offer as much as it is a training opportunity. Apparently, Admiral Marcus has seen the report about my actions on the Narada and wants me to undergo training with Starfleet intelligence before I can be considered to go on the five-year deep space missions."

"But isn't that great?" Jim exclaimed sitting up "Extra training for the five-year missions. Not to mention how handy it would be to have a chief of security trained in counter-espionage"

"I get all that, and I'm all down for it. It's just…argh!...it's weird" Layla ran a hand through her hair as she huffed "I just have this feeling that…that there's something weird going on. I mean sure it would be great to have at least someone in the crew, trained to be a professional spy if only for the skillset. But…I don't know, something smells off to me. And I don't know what it is!"

"When do you have to give the Admiral a response?" Jim asked quietly putting a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"On the day of your commendation ceremony when we get back on Earth." She muttered.

"and that's in a week. You still have plenty of time to think about it." Jim ruffled her dark locks, his hand lingering a little as she stifled another yawn behind her hand.

"Come on, let's hit the hay. Or else Bones will have our heads tomorrow."

"Agreed." she lowered herself back onto the bed, and Jim did the same, but even as they both rolled over to go back to back, she gently grabbed his hand.

"Hey,"

"Hmm?" Jim grunted, eyes half shut already.

"Thanks…for listening. It really helped"

"Glad I could help. Goodnight Lay." Jim smiled, giving her hand a squeeze.

"G'night Jimmy"

* * *

A pair of icy pale eyes scanned the room about their owner.

He seemed to be in a sterile room, restrained forcibly to a medical bed and wearing a medical gown of a patient.

_Where…where am I?_

After being so long in darkness, even the soft light of the dimly lit ceiling seemed blinding to the eyes and their owner who snarled a little as his ears finally began to work again.

"-waking up. His vital signs are stabilising far quicker than we anticipated" a hushed voice whispered, followed by a much gruffer deeper one.

"How long till I can talk with him?"

"Talk? Admiral, he's just woken up from three hundred years of Cryo-sleep, he needs rest."

_Three hundred years?_

The man in the bed inhaled a sharp breath and gasped as cold air flooded his throat and lungs for the first time since he awoke.

The owner of the gruff voice seemed to have heard him, for there was the thudding of booted footsteps approaching him.

The man in the bed looked up warily and wearily as the face of a lined much older man blocked his view of the ceiling.

He was wearing a grey uniform and a very disconcerting smirk as he murmured softly.

"Khan Noonien Singh, you truly are a remarkable son of a bitch."

* * *

The assembly in the Starfleet Academy great hall was grand. The cadets all standing to attention in their straight red suits, while all the senior officers stood at parade rest in their official grey dress uniforms.

And in the centre of the vast amphitheatre, the tall, dark form of Admiral Barnett stood straight-backed and proud as he addressed all his students, peers and colleagues and most importantly, the young blonde haired blue eyed young man standing before him.

"This assembly calls  _Captain_  James Tiberius Kirk" Barnett smiled as the youth before him gulped with excited apprehension "Your inspirational valour and supreme dedication to your comrades are in keeping with the highest traditions of service and reflect utmost credit to yourself, your crew and the Federation. It is my honour to award you with this commendation."

Jim Kirk smiled, his nerves melting away as a small box was presented to his superior and opened to reveal a shiny gold medal, which was quickly pinned to his left breast.

He tried not to smile too giddily as Barnett withdrew his hand. It was just too unreal. Barely two weeks ago this very same admiral was condemning him to academic suspension because he "cheated" at a simulation. Now here he was pinning a medal on his maroon cadet uniform for exemplary service.

"By Starfleet Order 28455, you are hereby directed to report to Admiral Pike, U.S.S. Enterprise, for duty as his relief." Barnette shook his hand and him to the side where none other than Captain, now Admiral, Christopher Pike, sat in a wheelchair in his new white and grey dress uniform. Behind him, pushing the chair, Layla stood in her maroon cadet suit, beaming proudly as she watched her best friend stand to attention before her father.

"I relieve you, sir"

"I am relieved" Christopher smirked dryly. Behind his back, his daughter stifled a small snort with a cough. Trust her old man to make a joke like that at a solemn ceremony.

"Thank you, sir," Jim smiled as his new commanding officer proffered his hand to shake.

"Congratulations, Captain. Your father would be proud."

The claps and cheers around the pair were deafening as they shook hands and it took all Layla had not to run out from behind her father's chair and hug Jim excitedly. Instead, she opted to clap with them, laughing as her small "Whoo!" made both men jump a little in surprise.

"Sorry" she mouthed as her father turned around in his seat to quirk an amused brow at her.

Jim quickly turned to grin at the rest of the amphitheatre, just in time to see Uhura smiling wide, Checkov clapping fast and enthusiastically while Sulu gave a shrill whistle right into an exasperated Bones' ear, while Scotty laughed at his expense along with Keenser. In the row, in front of them, he saw Spock clapping politely but silently, his face its usual blank mask, though the corner of his mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly as he let a little of his own happiness slip through just a fraction. He gave him a tiny nod of acknowledgement as they made eye contact and Jim's smile broadened.

This had to be one of the best days of his life, and there was nothing that could possibly ruin it.

Little did James Tiberius Kirk know just how wrong he was…

* * *

There was a reception in the courtyard, with food and refreshments laid out on various tables that many people flocked to.

The mood was a mixture of joy and solemn remembrance as they all toasted and drank to the crews that were lost during Nero's attack on Vulcan.

Friends and families comforted one other, doing their best to lift one another's spirits as they consoled themselves with the fact that their loved ones had not died in vain. They would be remembered as heroes. Starfleet Command had already given all those killed in the attack posthumous commendations of Valor in the line of service and devoted a massive memorial for them to be placed on campus for all future generations to see and remember.

The memorial was, in fact, several walls of black, one for each of the fallen starships, inscribed with the names of all members of its crews and their ranks, all laid out in Starfleet's beloved stylized arrow insignia.

It was at the foot of the USS Farragut Memorial that Layla gently placed a bouquet of flowers. Though most of her closest friends had thankfully survived with her on the Enterprise, a few of those she knew had been on the Farragut when it had been demolished…like Gaila…

To think that barely two weeks ago she had been so angry at the Orion girl for sleeping with her best friend and giving him access to the Kobiyashi Maru Firewall.

"I hope you guys find peace…wherever you are" she murmured softly as she carefully touched the wall.

"I'm sure they have" a gruff voice spoke from behind her.

"Uncle Alex-I-I mean Admiral Marcus, sir!" she quickly snapped to attention as she turned to face an older man in the white and grey admiral's uniform.

"At ease kid. There's no need for formalities, especially not at an event like this" Admiral Marcus smirked as he walked to stand beside her. "I just talked with your parents. They both seem to be doing well, or at least as well as can be expected given your dad's condition."

"Yeah, he's still got a lot of rehabilitation to go" Layla sighed. "That slug really did a number on his spine."

"Indeed." Marcus frowned, his expression softening as he turned to the wall of names.

"It truly is sad." He murmured quietly "So much potential, so many hopefuls all wiped out by one murderous bastard."

"With all due respect sir, but the truth isn't that black and white." Layla's eyes hardened a little as she glanced sideways at the Admiral. "Nero might've murdered hundreds of people, but he felt his cause was justified by his grief of losing his future family and his home and the need to protect them at all cost. Something I think you and I can both strongly relate to."

"You sound like Commander Spock," Marcus smirked at his junior officer. "He too said something like that effect in his report. Surprising really, considering that Nero destroyed his whole planet."

"It's not really that surprising. Despite his leanings towards logic, the Commander is deep down, a far more empathetic person at heart."

Marcus looked down at her, eyebrows raised.

"Sometimes I forget how smart you are." He muttered with a small smirk that Layla didn't like one bit. "Speaking of smarts, I got your response, and I am glad you decided to join Starfleet Intelligence."

"I never said I'd join intelligence" she clipped over him. "I merely said I was interested in the training. As you read in my response, I believe it would be beneficial that some officers of starships should have some training in specialised Intelligence operations."

"And you offered yourself to be the guinea pig in this little experiment?" his voice hardened impatiently.

"Yes, though I have conditions." She narrowed her eyes at him.

"First off, all Intelligence training I undertake will not interfere with my duties aboard the Enterprise as Chief Security Officer. I will keep going on missions with them, and I will go with them when we set out on the Five Year missions. Secondly, you keep my parents out of this, they've got enough on their plates as it stands. Thirdly and finally, no matter what my training I will not, I repeat, NOT under any circumstances be asked to or forced to undertake illegal activities that go against Starfleet, or Federation regulations and laws. I don't care how much my dad trusts you, but I won't give anyone an excuse to make me a scapegoat for any reason. Not even you."

"Layla, you wound me" Marcus forced a smile onto his face, though his eyes were cold and seething. "You're like family to me. How could you ever think I would force you to do something illegal against your will?"

"Because I know  _you,_ Sir." Layla met his gaze levelly, her voice deadly quiet. "And unlike my dad, I know exactly what you're capable of doing if things don't go your way."

"Is that a threat lieutenant commander?" Marcus's lip curled.

"Of course not sir. Simply an observation." Layla smiled oh-so-sweetly. "When do I start my training?"

"Orientation starts tomorrow o-nine-hundred hours. Don't be late" Marcus clipped and turned on his heel to march off, leaving Layla behind to stare at the flowers she had placed by the memorial wall. They were lilies, pure white and unblemished against the dark stone.

"Gutsy move, pissing off an Admiral" a voice spoke.

"Gutsy move, trying to hide from me" Layla looked up and saw Andrew Hawkins stepping out from around the back of the memorial. He was dressed in a grey officers dress uniform, sans the cap, his white hair standing out starkly as he carefully tried to settle it into place.

"I see you escaped your babysitters" Layla smirked.

"For the moment. But I have to go back with them in five minutes, so I can give my full report to Starfleet Intelligence in person." Hawke grimaced awkwardly as he stepped towards her.

"Are you going on another mission?" she asked, and he gave a small nod, though he avoided her eye oddly as he mumbled:

"This might be the last we see of each other for a while. I wanted to make the most of it." And with that, he leaned down swiftly and planted his lips on her cheek.

It was a careful press, warm and affectionate. So utterly different to the usually brisk and aggressive air with which he often held himself. It took Layla aback just how gentle the action was that she only blinked in response, her cheeks traitorously flushing as he leaned back and smirked.

"It was nice meeting your short stack. Even if our time together was brief, I won't forget you easily."

"And I you" she nodded, cursing her cheeks as they flushed a deep red. She was usually so in control of her emotions, mainly when it involved being around the opposite sex (or same sex depending on the person), but this guy just somehow knew how to get under her skin no matter how hard she tried to keep him at arm's length.

And yet she found herself hesitating to let him leave as he stepped away towards a small group of men in similar grey uniforms. They weren't of any ship or crew that had been present for the commendation ceremony, they were Intelligence agents sent by Starfleet Intelligence to pick Hawke up and escort him back to base.

And yet even as Layla watched the young man approach the agents, she couldn't help but notice that they kept their eyes on him warily, almost as if they were looking to see if he might cause trouble.

It was a look she knew all too well as a security officer, and it wasn't the look of a small escort. It was the look of jailers when they transferred prisoners.

She quickly turned away as one of the agents caught her eye briefly.

She had a sneaking suspicion that Admiral Marcus was responsible. He certainly was keeping a close eye on Hawke from where he was amiably chatting with her dad.

She kept her eyes trained on him even as she strolled back over to where Jim and Leonard were standing and murmuring over drinks at a refreshment table.

"Hey boys."

"Hey, kid. You doin' okay?" Leonard handed her a glass of water.

"I'm doing alright. Just giving Admiral Marcus my response. I report to him at nine o clock tomorrow morning for orientation" Layla downed a gulp of her drink.

"You said yes then?" Jim sipped at his own juice.

"Yeah…though I did make sure to do it on my own terms. The last thing I want is to be anybody's lackey." She snorted through another sip.

"Well, as long as you're happy with your choice, we'll support you no matter what." Leonard patted her on the back before adding in a mutter. "as long as that Hawke guy isn't a part of it."

"Seriously Leo, you are worse than my dad sometimes." Layla rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, then what was that kiss all about?" Jim sniggered, chortling loudly as her cheeks burned red hot like an old fire hydrant. But seeing as they still had to adhere to some code of conduct at this formal event, she suppressed the urge to slap his head, though she was sorely tempted as she mumbled.

"He was just saying goodbye. He's being reassigned."

"To where? A prison cell" Leonard's smirk fell a little as he watched the object of their conversation be quietly led away by his handlers. "Those creepy bozos don't look too friendly."

"I'd keep your voice down if I were you Bones," Jim coughed as he eyed the agents disappear behind a nearby building. "Lay's gonna be working with thugs like that when she joins Intelligence."

"Not that I'm looking forward to it" she admitted gulping down the last of her water.

"Then why did you take the job?" Leonard frowned.

"I need the training. And I won't be joining them…at least not completely." She set her water down with a small cough. "The Admiral has agreed to let me continue my duties on board the Enterprise as Chief of Security. In-between missions I will undergo training with all the other candidates, but I won't officially join S.I. as an agent."

"Can he do that?" Leonard's eyebrows rose into his hairline.

"I convinced him in my written response that it might be useful for certain members of ship crews to have experience dealing with counter-espionage without being part of the S.I. think of it as another specialised skillset like engineering or Medicine."

"It would be handy having a trained spy as one of the crew," Jim nodded as he considered the idea.

"Provided they don't turn double agent on us and slit our throats in our sleep" Leonard muttered only to wince as Layla narrowed her eyes dangerously at him.

"Leo! You honestly think I'd knife you in the back."

"No-no! I know YOU wouldn't want sweetheart!" Leonard quickly put up a placating hand. "but I can't say the same for other people. I sometimes see some of them coming into medical to get patched up on the night shifts and well, I know we've got confidentiality agreements but let's just say that some of the stuff those agents get up to is…not too pretty."

"Good thing you're my trusted backup physician then" Layla sighed as she cooled her heightened temper as she set her empty glass on the table.

"Backup? I thought Bones was your primary physician?" Jim frowned.

"He is still. But while I train at intelligence, I have to make use of their doctors, so I don't let anything leak. But don't worry Leo, if I am leaking and those bastards can't fix it I've got you on speed dial."

"Lord give me strength" Leonard rolled his eyes, though he was betrayed by the smallest of smirks that played on his lips as Jim chuckled heartily into his drink.

Layla smiled at the two of them, her icy eyes thawing ever so slightly as she allowed herself to swell up with pride and deep affection for her two best friends.

If only moments like this could last forever.


	17. A Light in the Dark

When Layla Serena Pike woke up early the next morning, it was to find her parents already up and sitting at the breakfast table in the kitchen. Her step-father Christopher Pike was in his wheelchair at the head of the table, gingerly spooning small mouthfuls of porridge into his mouth. Beside him on his left, her mother, Helene sat cleanly eating her fried eggs while keeping a watchful eye on her husband, whose face brightened as he caught sight of Layla standing in the doorframe.

"Morning kiddo. You're up early."

"Have my orientation with Marcus at nine" she walked over to the kitchenette and began fixing herself some toast. After those days in space, it seemed odd having to share her apartment with her parents again. She felt as if she'd grown centuries older since yesterday's memorial.

"I have your new uniform ready. It's pressed and waiting in the living room" her mother quickly checked her PADD. "Oh good, my schedule's been cleared. Professor Travers will cover me."

"You don't have to do this Helene" Christopher grimaced awkwardly only to be quelled by his wife's stern brow.

"Oh yes, I do. I leave the two of you on your own in space for two minutes and look what happens."

"I hardly see how this is my fault" he grumbled, but Layla could see the humour in his eyes. Even he was looking far older, and she swore his hair was greyer than before.

"Well, fault or no fault. I'm just glad we're all back here in one piece" Layla grunted as she set herself, her toast and her glass of warm milk down on the table.

"Amen to that" another voice grumbled as they entered the room.

"Morning Jim" Layla smirked as Jim Kirk trudged into the room, hair a mess and his chin dark with a five-o clock shadow.

"Morning Lay." he yawned as he passed her by, ruffling her hair as he did so. "Morning Mam. Admiral" he added at Christopher who grinned.

"Good Morning  _Captain_   _Kirk_. I trust you slept well."

"Like a baby" Jim sipped at a glass of water. "and once again thank you for letting me stay here until I move into my new apartment."

"Not at all Jim, you're as good as family, and you're welcome here anytime." Helene smiled at him warmly as she sipped her tea "Oh, by the way, there's fried eggs on the stove if you'd like some. I would've offered my daughter, but as you probably know, she hates them" she slyly smirked at said daughter.

"I prefer them scrambled is all. And the yolk always tastes weird when its fried" Layla grimaced as she watched her best friend settle down beside her with a plate of fried eggs and dive straight into them.

She shook her head and tore into her toast.

"Layla small bites, please. You're a lady" Her mother scolded her.

From their spots, both Christopher and Jim snorted with laughter as Layla looked up at her mother innocently, a piece of toast crust dangling from her mouth, the rest of it stuffed into her cheeks.

"Chris help me out here." Helene sighed at her husband who was still chuckling into his bowl.

"Layla, listen to your mother" he coughed, trying and failing to hold down his amusement as Layla rolled her eyes.

"What's the matter? It's just toast. Oh crap." She looked down at her communicator, where an alarm was beeping for her.

"Uniform. Living room. Go" Helene nodded, only to quickly call after her as she dashed out of the room "And remember, wash the crumbs off your face!"

"I know! I know!" Layla waved her off as she disappeared out the door.

Once she was out of sight, Helene turned to Jim, her face worried.

"How is she really, Jim?"

"She's alright I guess." Jim shrugged "She's just nervous about today."

Even as he said this, Layla poked her head back into the door.

"Uh, mom…are you sure this isn't your uniform?" she held up a petite grey officer's uniform.

"I'm sure" Helene smirked as her husband sat up a little straighter.

"Command had new uniforms commissioned for the Enterprise crew. Yours came yesterday evening. Jim's will come in sometime around ten today just in time to report to Admiral Barnett." Christopher gave a pointed look at Jim who gulped a little.

It was one thing to be named Captain. But now having the dress uniform to go with the title made everything so much more real.

He could see that Layla was having similar anxious thoughts as she carefully sidled out of the doorway, holding her dress uniform at arm's length as though she were handling a volatile bomb.

"Don't worry; you'll get used to the material. A couple of washes and the itch goes…mostly." Christopher smirked dryly as he reached for his data pad and began looking up a news feed.

Despite himself, Jim couldn't help but smirk as he continued to eat his food. By the time he'd started serving himself a breakfast muffin Helene had made fresh from the oven, Layla had come back downstairs.

Her suit fitted her like a glove. Medium grey and tailored in at her waist, with a skirt that went just above the knee and her slender black boots. Over her jacket cuffs, she had two bands of silver, the top one thin and the bottom one thick, representations of her rank as Lieutenant Commander. Over her left breast, pinned on proudly and shining in the morning light was the silver badge of the Starfleet arrow. Her raven black hair was pulled back into a neat high ponytail, and she bore her grey cap under one arm.

"Oh honey, you look amazing!" Helene rushed forwards to hug her daughter who flushed pink with embarrassment as her mother hugged her. "I'm so proud of you."

"Mom. My uniform-" she grumbled but made no move to push her mother off as she planted a very wet kiss on her cheek. "MOM! I have to go."

"Oh hush! You know you love it. Now come on, say goodbye to your father."

"Okay, okay. Goodbye Dad" Layla leaned down to kiss her father on the cheek and give him a brief hug.

"Sorry" she muttered as she felt him wince in her grasp. She had forgotten not to use her strength on him. But her father just smiled as she leant away.

"Good luck Layla. You'll do fine."

"I hope" Layla shrugged as she turned to ruffle Jim's bed hair and give a small, amiable thud on his back. "Later Jimmy"

"Later? That's all I get? A  _later_   _Jimmy_? No kiss?" Jim exclaimed in mock hurt through a grinning face.

"Nope!" Layla smirked as she left the door. "I'll see you all when I get back!"

And with that, she was out of the door and out of sight.

* * *

Khan Noonien Singh stared at the blank dark wall.

This was it. He thought savagely.

This was the day he finally got out of this godforsaken cell. Granted he wasn't going to be free.

That Admiral Marcus had said he'd be working for Starfleet, developing weapons and training a young new rising star from the ranks. In return for his compliance, his crew was guaranteed safety, and by safety, Marcus meant them not being killed off one by one on his orders or experimented on like guinea pigs.

As he sat there, waiting for his armed escort, he wondered what kind of person Marcus was setting him up to work with. During their less than friendly meetings, the disgusting excuse for a man had told him that he would find his new little pupil to be of great interest to him.

In the privacy of the room, Khan allowed himself a small shiver. Whatever, or whoever this person was, Marcus thought he could use them to further manipulate him into doing his bidding, or at least have a spy to watch his every move.

He could, of course, kill or threaten the poor wretch that dared to keep him on a leash, but then his crew would face annihilation. Already one member of his people, the young and reckless, Andrew "Hawke" Hawkins, was barely walking the razor's edge when it came to keeping himself in line under Marcus's orders. Khan knew the younger augmented man wasn't keen on taking orders, especially from a lesser being, and only went along with Marcus's threats because Khan himself had given him the order.

No. Whoever this new lackey for Marcus was, had to be dealt with subtly, in a carefully planned seduction that would trap them like a helpless fly in his web. One that only Khan's silver tongue could weave if he had enough time and patience with this person, whoever they were.

There was the thudding of footsteps, and he stood up to greet the armed guards that had come to take him away. It took all he had not to break each of their limbs as they nudged him out of his cage roughly and into their midst.

They were quick to shove him out of the holding cells, barely allowing him one last glance back at Hawke, who was observing him from the glass wall of his chamber even as he passed out of sight.

Khan kept track of all the passageways they walked through as they made their way to the turbolift that led just outside the Admiral's office. He'd long since learned (from Marcus and the doctors that had awoken him) that the facility he was staying in was a secret underground base, directly under the Starfleet headquarters in San Francisco.

From his vague memories of three hundred years ago, San Francisco had been the main rebel base of those few humans that had fought against himself and his brethren's takeover of the world. What had once been an old overpopulated city was now a thriving metropolis that gleamed in the sunlight as he looked at it through the turbolift's glass walls.

He had to admit, the sight of flying cars and a city full of clean air and energy, was quite a sight to behold. The presence of Aliens as well, integrated with human society, fascinated him. Technology and science had advanced beyond what he and his brethren had ever thought humans to be capable of. If it had not been for his situation, he might have enjoyed exploring this new world.

He was pulled out of his thoughts by one of his guards who shoved him roughly out of the turbolift doors.

He glared at all of them and was pleased to see them all shrink back in fear as his icy eyes bore into their skulls. Even after all those years asleep, he could still make those lesser than him shrivel under his gaze.

He was led to a door, where one of the guards made to stand in front. Through it, Khan could hear Marcus talking to someone.

The guard knocked at the door.

"Admiral Marcus Sir. Commander John Harrison is here to see you as you requested"

Khan rolled his eyes. Oh yes, how could he have forgotten the ultimate insult? His new, name. John Harrison. Pathetic, uninteresting and dull. It didn't have any of the panache or power his correct name held. But that was how the Admiral wanted him. A dull, uninteresting drone programmed to do his bidding without question.

He pulled himself up straight as he heard the Admiral's voice call through the door.

"Let him in."

" _Commander_ " the guard sneered as he held open the door for him.

Khan forced a polite smile on his face, though his eyes were still hard as ice as he stepped through the door.

He appeared to be in a large, impressive office. At the far end of the room stood a door, through which he could see through a glass panel, another corridor.

_That must be the main entrance to the headquarters._

Khan noted as he surveyed the rest of the room.

Before him stood a desk, with an empty chair and a large console behind it.

In front of this desk just in front of the two guest chairs two people stood.

The first he recognised to be Admiral Marcus, who stood in his white and grey dress uniform, looking down at a much younger, and much shorter figure than him.

_He has me babysitting a child?_

Khan thought indignantly as he turned to face the younger officer, only to stop dead in his tracks as he got a proper look at them.

It was a young woman. She was short and petite and was dressed in a grey officer's uniform. Her raven black hair was tied back in a high ponytail, allowing her face to be seen. She had high cheekbones, rosy lips and icy blue eyes with tiny flecks of green around the pupils. A small beauty spot just next to her left eye was the only mark on her face. She couldn't have been more than eighteen, and yet something was compelling in the way she held herself in front of the admiral who had turned to face him.

"Ah, John. There you are. I was wondering when you'd get here." Admiral Marcus gave him a warm, welcoming smile that did not meet his cold, heartless eyes. "You're just in time."

Khan stiffened as he felt a jovial hand grab him by the shoulder and steer him over to the young woman who had finally noticed him.

Her eyes widened as they met his, and Khan knew at that moment, she was seeing exactly what he was seeing.

"John. Meet your new assistant slash protégé, Lieutenant Commander Layla Pike. Layla, this is Commander John Harrison. He will be your mentor during your training here at Section 31."

"C-Commander" the woman, Layla gulped as she quickly held out a hand.

Khan noticed that it was trembling slightly as he took it, though he could not talk, feeling as shocked as if he'd accidentally trodden on a mine.

The resemblance was too striking. Not to acknowledge it would be foolish. And yet…

_But how? How is this possible? Who is this girl?_

"A pleasure to meet you Miss Pike" he forced a smile on his face as he reached out to grip her hand. In his surprise, he forgot to hide his strength and was about to let go when he felt her quickly return the grip with interest.

"The pleasure is all mine sir" she tried to smile back at him, only to look like she had a toothache.

"Layla is Chief of Security on board the U.S.S Enterprise" Marcus smirked as he watched the exchange keenly "While she won't be becoming an official Intelligence Agent, she will undergo the training program to prepare herself for the new Five Year deep space exploration missions. In-between the Enterprises missions she will train under your tutelage in anti-espionage and help you in your weapons design."

"I see." Khan let go of her hand, still studying her face like a computer. "And how old are you Miss Pike?"

"Seventeen sir. But I assure you my age won't be a problem" Layla clipped, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Seventeen…and already chief of security aboard a starship? That's quite an achievement." Khan smirked and was amused to watch her as she straightened her back proudly, trying to give herself extra height. However, she failed miserably as both Marcus and Khan both towered over her at just above six feet.

Still, she tried her best to puff out her plumage as she smiled sweetly.

"No, sir. I'm just good at my job."

"We shall see" Khan turned to Marcus, still smiling, though his eyes were now burning hotly with wrath. "Admiral, may I have a word with you in private."

"Of course. Layla why don't you step outside for a moment. We won't be long." Marcus smiled at Layla who nodded, not taking her eyes off Khan's face as she carefully went out the front door and out into the corridor.

"Of course, goodday sir."

Once the door was shut securely behind her, Khan rounded on Marcus.

"You bastard!" he snarled as he backed the man into the desk. "You bastard what the hell did you do?"

"Me? I did nothing" Marcus sneered back, utterly calm despite his adversary's rage.

"Don't play dumb Admiral? Who is she?  **What**  is she?"

"I'd have thought that much was obvious" Marcus's lip curled. "She's your brat, that's who. Your filthy arrogant little spawn. As for  _what_  she is…well…let's say she's my collateral."

"Collateral?" Khan spat "You already have my crew-"

"Yes…but they aren't your flesh and blood. And unlike her, they aren't alive and kicking or  _here._  You see  _Khan_ , I can give the order for your crew to be exterminated and it will take my men ten minutes to receive the order and carry it out. That's ten minutes of wasted time. Now, why would I waste ten minutes of my precious time killing your crew, when I can get my men to whip out their blasters and shoot your brat in two seconds?"

Khan's fists were shaking with rage.

He and his people had been accused of being cruel, ruthless barbarians, but this Admiral, this disgusting piece of filth in front of him…

He was almost grateful for the knocks on the door beside the desk as the guards opened the door to check in on them.

"Hold your fire Lieutenant" Marcus drawled as Khan took a step back from him, his lip curled with fury as he willed himself to remain in control as the guards closed the door.

"Now that you've got control over your savage temper perhaps you will listen to me" Marcus straightened up, nostrils flaring as he looked Khan up and down in repugnance.

"You will train Miss Pike, and you both will design weapons for Starfleet. That other brat of yours, Hawkins, will be put to work as a field agent. If you both prove yourself useful and compliant I will perhaps, provide you with a little more freedom outside of this facility, but consider yourself warned. Should you or that boy of yours put one toe out of line, jeopardize any of the missions or projects I set for you, or even tell anyone, including your precious little spawn, about your true identity, then both her and your crew are history. Do I make myself clear,  _Commander_?"

"As Crystal" Khan hissed through his teeth, hating every syllable that escaped his lips. But what he hated more was that victorious shit eating grin the Admiral sent his way.

"Very good. However, in future, you will address me as Admiral, or sir is that understood?"

"Yes,  _sir_ " Khan's fists were so tight by his sides that his knuckles had gone deathly white.

"That's better." Marcus sat himself down behind his desk. "Now, I suggest you join your new  _protégé_ outside. Given that it's your first day San Francisco, I've ordered her to take you around and show you some of the sights. Of course, you will have a guard tailing your every move, so don't even think about trying to run. When you return, you will stay and watch her physical and medical trials. You will be shown your new lab and living arrangements tomorrow. Right now, however, I suggest you enjoy whatever fresh air you get, it might be a while till you get to go outside again. You are dismissed."

Khan didn't say a word, only nodding briskly as he turned on his heel and marched out the door through which Layla had walked out of.

He spotted her quickly, leaning against the wall a few feet away with her arms folded and looking very troubled. She jumped when he coughed to get her attention.

"Miss Pike."

"Commander" she scowled the tips of her ears red with embarrassment as she straightened up to face him. "I take it your talk with the Admiral went well."

"As well as can be expected" Khan nodded curtly, before forcing another smile onto his face "Now, the Admiral said you were to show me the sights of the city."

"He did. Follow me" Layla nodded and quietly led him to the turbo lift which she quickly ordered to take them down to the main parking lot. "We'll take my transport; it'll be faster than taking the shuttle."

"You drive?" Khan raised his eyebrows at the girl and was surprised to see her shrug.

"Got my full license last year."

Khan nodded silently. For the first time in his life, he honestly felt at a loss for words. When he had awoken that morning, he'd had all these scenarios cooked up in his brain. Sweet honeyed words that had formed into sentences to lure and distract were now shattering into a million pieces with every glance he gave to the girl beside him.

They were thrown out the window when she opened her mouth to say bluntly:

"He threatened you, didn't he?"

Khan blinked at her.

She was looking up at him, her icy eyes, so much like his own, seeming to pierce straight through him and into his very head.

_So that's how it feels._

He couldn't help but wonder as she turned back to look at the doors to the Turbo lift.

"You don't have to answer. I already know my Uncle Alex well enough to know that what he's blackmailing you with must be big or else he wouldn't be looking so smug. And you wouldn't be looking so rattled."

"I'm not rattled." Khan clipped as he too turned to look at their reflection in the turbo lift doors.

"Yeah, sure you aren't" she sighed softly at his reflection as she led him out into the parking lot and towards a jet-black hover vehicle. It wasn't too fancy, at least not in comparison to the other sleeker models that had been parked beside it, but what it lacked in looks on the outside, were more than compensated inside.

"Nice isn't she?" Layla smirked as she set herself in the driver's seat. "I took her apart and fixed her myself last summer while on break. Re-designed her whole A.R. interface."

Khan was silent as he marvelled at the controls from his spot in the passenger's seat. The inside of the car was black like the outside, but sleek and shiny, with a very easy to use touch interface that could be activated from any part of the craft. On the dashboard, a holographic augmented reality interface was enabled as she pressed her handprint in to unlock her steering wheel.

"Manual controls engaged" a computerised voice spoke, and Layla rolled her eyes.

"Yes, yes I know."

"Couldn't you set it on autopilot?" Khan quirked a brow and was surprised to see her smirk widely.

"And miss out on the fun? Seriously, what's the point of calling yourself a driver, if you don't even get to drive?"

"Point taken" Despite himself, the corners of Khan's mouth twitched upwards ever so slightly as he buckled himself in securely.

But she didn't move at once.

"Is something the matter?" Khan frowned at her and was surprised to see her smirking up at her rearview mirror.

Then suddenly she reversed fast.

Khan held on tightly as he felt something heavy hit somewhere behind him and turned around just in time to see the back end of their craft smoothly moving away from the front of what looked like a costly silver hover car.

"There," Layla grinned as she caught sight of the nice sizable dent in the once smooth front of the vehicle. "That should do nicely. Have fun fixing that one Alex."

"You bashed his car?" Khan stared at her in amazement. This girl, a mere lieutenant commander in a large organisation, had just purposefully rear-ended a top brass Admiral's transport vehicle without batting an eye.

"He's an admiral; he can afford to get it fixed" Layla shrugged as she smoothly drove them out of the parking lot "Besides, he probably deserves it. And more" she added, and Khan was surprised to hear the bitterness in her tones.

"You call him uncle, and yet you hate him so much? Why?" Khan asked quietly, as she sucked in a sharp breath.

"Let's say; I only call him uncle to keep my parents happy. Otherwise, I can't stand the creepy old bastard" she admitted.

"Your parents?"

"My mom and step-dad" she glanced at him uncomfortably, and he quickly avoided her eye.

And there it was, the blasted elephant in the room.

Khan could see she was bursting with the same questions that he too burned with.

She had inherited his sharp intellect, that much was clear. She was observant of her surroundings and of people she met. She had been able to scan him and his emotions, though he blamed that partially on his state of surprise at seeing her for the first time. From what he had felt from her handshake, her strength was average by the standards of his kind. However, he thought he'd have to see her in action to fully understand the extent of her prowess.

After all, to be Chief of Security at the age of seventeen was no mean feat, even by Augments standards.

He turned to look at her, watching her eyes harden on the road as she did her best to avoid his gaze. While her face bore the most striking resemblance to his, there were some smaller details, like the shape of her nose and the softness of her cheeks that were indeed not his.

"Who is your mother?" he wondered aloud and was not disappointed by the glare she shot sideways at him.

"Like I'd ever tell you."

"And why not?" he answered her levelly, impressed by her daring. Did she not know just how easy it would be for him to reach over and break her neck? Maybe she did because when she answered next, her voice was measured and careful but still blunt.

"Listen…I don't know what's going on between you and Marcus, but it doesn't take a genius to see that it's not good. I may be involved in this shit now because I'm your new protégé or whatever, but I'll be damned if I let my family get involved in it. They've got enough on their plates without being in further danger of you or him. So, until we're finished working or training, neither you nor Marcus are coming one step near my family. Especially my  _Mom_ , Kapeesh?"

"I understand" Khan nodded quietly, and truthfully, he did understand…more than she would ever know.

* * *

"That little bitch" Admiral Marcus snarled as he watched the security footage of his hover car being rammed by a black vehicle.

"It was probably an accident sir" one of his men coughed "Young drivers can be…well you know, careless."

"Of course. You're right I can get it easily repaired anyway." Marcus smiled coldly though inside he seethed. That little brat was far from careless. Even when she was a little girl every step she ever took was calculated and measured.

Much like those of her fathers.

He couldn't believe it when his doctors ran the DNA tests and found that the bastard Augment's genes had matched Layla's. He'd always known she was an Augment, but to be the daughter of Khan Noonien Singh, one of the biggest tyrants of the twentieth Century, that was beyond anything he could've imagined.

And now he'd set them up to work together.

He could only hope this decision wouldn't come back to bite him in the ass _._

* * *

Khan stared up at the sky above as he and Layla sat on one of the outside tables at a local café, while some section 31 agents kept watching close by. They were eating lunch, Layla paying as he didn't have any money on him.

She was telling him about her recent promotion to Chief of Security and the disturbing circumstances surrounding it.

Khan had to admit, he was amazed she even survived half the ordeal. From what she had told him about the Romulans, they seemed to be on par with his people in terms of brute strength, and with their weapons from the future, they'd surely have the upper hand in a fight.

She skipped over various details, like names of certain people or events that happened between them, turning her story into more like a documented report.

Khan knew it was to keep him and whoever was watching them, away from her friends. However, from what little she was willing to let slip, he knew she was very fond of a certain Jim Kirk and someone she called Leo.

It didn't take him long to use the datapad she'd accidentally left behind with her belongings while she excused herself to use the facilities.

_So…this blonde upstart is her new captain…and this Leo must be this Leonard McCoy, the Chief Medical Officer._

Khan frowned as he looked over both men's profiles. This McCoy man was almost double her age, and Kirk had to be at least twenty-four years old. In fact, nearly all the main crew of the Enterprise, save for one young Russian navigator, were over the age of twenty-one.

_It certainly is an odd crew to say the least._

He frowned as he read the profile on the Vulcan Science officer named Spock. Back when he and his people had run, Space travel was still only just in its fledgling stages. Now it seemed many alien species had allied themselves with the humans.

Khan wasn't sure how comfortable he was with this progress, then reminded himself that he of all people should not judge. He and his crew were probably just as much outsiders as these aliens, it might be worthwhile to get to know more about them and see which ones he could befriend to his advantage-

"Having a good read?" he heard her frown before he saw it.

"You have an interesting crew" he smirked as she snatched her datapad away from his grip. "So that is your dear Jim. I can see why you and half the women in your crew would follow him."

"I don't follow him because he's attractive" Layla snapped, cheeks flaring despite herself "He's a good decent guy, and a great friend. If it weren't for him, my dad and I wouldn't have made it home alive at all-" she stopped short quickly, eyes widening in horror as Khan paused mid sip of his coffee.

"Your  _dad…_ I see…so the captain you had to rescue from the Romulans, the one recently promoted to Admiral, is your step-father." Khan watched her carefully.

"…yes…though I don't see why that should matter to you" she muttered avoiding his eye again.

"You must admire him greatly, if you'd want to follow his footsteps in Starfleet" Khan murmured softly, measuredly.

"Yeah well, he was a damn good Captain. If anyone deserved that promotion to Admiral, it was him" Layla raised her chin up proudly as she took a sip of her coffee, not noticing the momentary spark of hurt flash over her companion's eyes as he watched her drain the rest of her drink.

Whoever this Captain Pike was, she obviously adored him to the ends of the Earth…even if he was of a lesser species. And yet…

_Does she even know?_

Khan felt his blood freeze in his veins even as the thought crossed his brain. Did she know  _what_ she was?

But that was ridiculous, he thought wildly. Marcus said himself, she was his, Khan's, own flesh and blood. She had his face, his mind and possibly his strength, and if she had those then she must have had…

He carefully moved his hand just enough to make his coffee mug slip from the table, where it proceeded to shatter on the pavement beneath the table and chairs.

"Crap what was that?!" Layla flinched as the piercing sound of breaking china hit her ears.

"Sorry, that was me. I wasn't looking where my hand was going" Khan said oh-so-apologetically as he made to lean down to pick it up, only for Layla to beat him to the punch.

"No it's okay, here I'll-ow!" she winced as she sliced a deep cut into her finger on a sharp edge.

She quickly sucked at it, apologizing all the while to the young waitress that had come outside the café to check on the commotion.

But Khan had eyes only for her injured hand, for even as she sucked the wound with her mouth, he could see the skin already begin to heal itself. By the time they'd paid for their drinks and the broken mug, there wasn't even a scar left on her finger, over which she had placed a plaster just in case.

_Her regenerative abilities are faster than mine._

He noted keenly as they made their way back to her hover vehicle. Even though his tissue could regenerate ten times faster than a normal human's, it still would've taken him ten minutes for a cut like that to heal and an extra ten for the scar to disappear. Whereas Layla's cut had completely disappeared within the span of five minutes.

"Are you alright?" he asked quietly as she started the vehicle.

"It was just a tiny prick" she rolled her eyes ", And I've had worse. Way worse"

Khan didn't say anything, but she could feel his gaze intently upon her as she began to drive.

 _So that's what it's like to be scrutinized by my eyes_. _No wonder Leo and Jim get so squeamish._

She thought to herself, doing her best to keep her eyes fixed on the road, not noticing the small bloodied piece of the mug that her passenger had just slipped into his pocket.

* * *

Jim Kirk sighed heavily as he took a sip of his whisky at the bar.

He had had a long tiring day. First getting his new uniform and then going to give a full massive report in to Admiral Barnett, then having to read pages upon pages of engineering reports on Enterprise's reconstruction and repairs, before settling down back at the Admiral's apartment to go over all the necessary paperwork for the job.

_Shit…I know being a Captain wouldn't be easy, but all this paperwork…sheesh!_

He put down the drink on the bar. Christopher and his wife were still at the physical rehabilitation clinic, for the former's recovery. Bones was going to be meeting him here in five minutes. He'd also called Layla out for a drink so they could celebrate her first day on the job in S.I. but wasn't too sure she'd come.

She hadn't answered her comm unit all day, and while he knew that she might be busy, he couldn't help but feel a little worried as he remembered her words from barely a week before.

"S _omething smells off to me. And I don't know what it is."_

She had been so nervous when she'd said that.

_She'll be fine._

He told himself as he took another sip of his drink.

_Probably just jitters from a new position. Yeah, that's just it._

He looked up and smirked as he saw his favourite grouchy doctor stroll into the quiet bar, his face scowling darkly.

"Hey,  _Captain._  Fancy meeting you here."

"Ha-ha! Very funny Bones" Jim smirked as his friend settled into a seat beside him and quickly ordered himself a beer.

"So, how was your first Official day as captain? Let me guess, you've already got some more acts of heroic bravery under your belt."

"What can I say, the chicks dig a man in uniform" Jim shrugged oh-so-modestly, only to chuckle as he said "Nah. I just delivered my report in to the top brass, then I had read the maintenance report on the ship. She's taken a lot more damage than we thought."

"I bet Scotty's got his hands full."

"He's over the moon. It will take a superman with super strength to tear him away from the ship now he's sunk his claws into her"

"Engineers" Bones snorted into his glass and Jim laughed, gesturing to the barkeep to pour him another drink.

"Speaking of enthusiastic tinkerers, has Layla messaged you yet? She should be done with work tonight right?" Bones asked, his face quickly turning back into his customary worried frown.

"I've left her a message to meet us here if she feels up for it. But no, she hasn't called me back."

"She's probably just tired. First days of any job can take a lot out of you, believe you me" Leonard grunted.

"Yeah, but you didn't see her this morning. She was super jittery. I've never seen her so nervous."

"Jim, she's seventeen" Bones shrugged matter of fact "She's a lieutenant commander at age seventeen about to be trained as a spy. That's a huge load on anyone's shoulders."

"I suppose…" Jim nodded, only to pause as he caught sight of something grey in the corner of his eye.

"Speak of the devil." Bones grinned warmly as Layla spotted them from the bar door.

"Hey guys" she sighed as she strode over to hug and greet both her friends. Unlike the two of them, she was still in her grey Starfleet uniform, though she had long since undone her high ponytail, letting her black tresses fall freely about her shoulders.

"Hey yourself. How are you kid?" Bones pulled back from the hug to inspect her at arm's length "You look tired." He noted with a scowl.

"I am tired" she admitted rubbing a hand on her temple. "I've just done my physical examination, and they then drew some blood during my medical tests."

"Come on sit down then." Bones ruffled her hair as he quickly ordered her a glass of water.

"Drink up, you'll need it," he ordered, and she nodded quietly, and it was then Jim noticed how deathly pale her skin was…and the small tick in her temple. She wasn't tired. She was rattled.

"Lay, are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Just feeling drained" Layla waved him off, but she did not meet either his or Bones' eyes when she said this.

"How much blood did they take?" Leonard's brow furrowed deeply. Layla was always one to bounce back quickly after her medical and physical exams. For her to look so pale wasn't something he was used to.

"Not much. Just the usual amount for a blood test" Layla grunted into her drink.

"Then what's wrong? Because seriously, you look like you've seen a ghost" Jim tried to smirk, only for it to fall as she spared him an irritable scowl.

But it fell as quickly as it came, and she sighed heavily.

"Yeah…I think I have."

"What do you mean?" Jim and Bones both frowned concernedly at one another as her head dropped down as she ran a hand through her hair.

"Listen" she murmured softly so that only they could hear her "You can't tell anyone else I told you guys about this alright? I technically shouldn't even be mentioning this to anyone outside HQ because it's classified, and you could get into a lot of trouble if people found out you knew."

"Don't worry Lay, we won't tell a soul." Jim assured her as he reached out to gently pull her hand away from her face "Now what's going on?"

She sucked in a deep breath.

"So, get this right? A part of my training for the S.I. requires me to work alongside a mentor who specializes in the field I have chosen."

"How is that classified? People, do that all the time in the Med School?" Bones quirked a brow only to put his hands up to pacify her angry glare. "Alright, alright. Sorry. Please, continue."

"As I was saying" Layla rolled her eyes turning back to her drink. "I've got this mentor, who's going to be showing me the ropes in weapons research and design. We're talking top level, hushed up kinda stuff that doesn't see the light of day. And the guy they've got me paired with he's…he's…"

She paused gulping on air as a lump seemed to rise in her throat.

"Oh god, it's not that Hawke guy is it?" Bones grunted, and Jim scowled as the memory of the young man wafted into his mind's eye.

Layla shook her head. "N-no. He's not the guy I'm with. The guy I'm with…he's…he's my-oh god I can't even believe I'm saying this" she sucked in an even deeper breath than before.

"He's my father."

There was a bone numbing silence as both Jim and Leonard stared at her in shock.

"He's…your… _what?_ " Jim blinked, his brain barely able to process the words.

"He's…" Layla shut her eyes and shook her head out like a distressed horse trying to ward off flies.

"He's my  _father_ …"

"What like, your biological father,  _father_?" Bones eye was twitching nervously as she nodded.

"Yep."

"How can you tell?" Jim whispered as the barkeep passed them by, eyeing their suspicious little group curiously as he did so.

"How can I  _not_ tell?" Layla snorted derisively "The man looks exactly like me. Except taller. It's creeping the shit out of me."

"Now, now let's not be hasty. I mean, have you even done the DNA test yet?" Bones asked swiftly and she shook her head.

"Not yet, though I really don't see the point. I mean for starters we've both got the exact same eyes and not many people carry the gene for hectochromia now do they?" she pointed to her pale eyes, icy blue flecked faintly with pale green.

"Maybe. But still, do the test." Bones put a firm hand on her shoulder "You never know, he might not be your dad but, maybe just a close relative."

"A close relative? Leo, the man, looks like my goddamn reflection!" she hissed.

"Maybe, but isn't this, I don't know, like a good thing?" Jim tried to reason "I mean, if he really is your dad, maybe you could get to know him-"

"Get to know him? Why? So he can get me to like him and then leave me in the lurch just like he left my mom the first time. Ha! No sir, not going through that again." She growled bitterly into her glass as she drained the last of the water.

"I get it you're mad at him kid and frankly you probably have every reason to be" Bones added as he took a swig of beer "But still, if the tests come back and he  _is_  your dad, just give him a chance to explain. Who knows, maybe there is a perfectly logical reason he left"

"Yeah, Bones is right. You said he's in S.I., maybe he was doing an undercover mission or something in another quadrant" Jim reached over to grip her hand comfortingly in his as she snorted.

"For nearly eighteen years?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's possible, isn't it? In the old days, the FBI and secret police used to spend years working under deep cover in large crime rings, working their way up the ladder to get close to the big guys at the top."

"You've been watching my Dad's twenty-first century crime drama collection, haven't you?" Layla narrowed her eyes, though the corners of her lips twitched upwards with faint amusement.

"Yeah, they're actually pretty interesting. Though I never figured Pike would like crime shows. I thought he'd go more for the comedies" Jim took a swig of his drink draining the last of it as the Barkeep strode over.

"Another drink then?"

"Yeah, another one of these" Jim nodded thankfully as the barkeep took his glass with a small smirk.

He really could use the alcohol right now.

* * *

Khan stared up at the data pad that they had given him to study in the privacy of his cell. Or more accurately he stared at the information that blared out over his face in the dark.

**_Starfleet Personnel Profile: Layla Serena Pike_ **

**_Rank: Lieutenant Commander_ **

**_Role/s: Chief Security Officer U.S.S Enterprise, trainee S.I. Intelligence Operative, Interim Weapons Design specialist._ **

**_Age: 17_ **

**_DOB: Star-date 2241.218 (March 30, 2325, Terran Time: 01:04:10)_ **

**_Species: Human_ **

_"Species: Human" what a great, magnificent lie._

Khan snarled as he pulled up her general medical profile and skimmed his way down to her DNA profile, where a new note had been added in addition to the general information

**John Harrison is not excluded as the biological father of Layla Pike**

**Probability of Paternity: 99.99%**

_Probability of paternity…_

Well, there it was, in writing, all the proof he needed to know that what had happened to him that day had not been a dream. He really had just met his own daughter, had talked with her, had ate a meal with her.

It was all too surreal.

The whole situation was bizarre.

He had been trained to be better than all the low life humans, to face situations no man could face. And yet today he was completely and utterly stumped for what to do.

He had a daughter, an heir to his legacy. Yet how? How had she been created? He had no recollection of being able to sire any children with normal human women even before he and his people went into hiding, not to mention that none of his people were capable of bearing children at all.

Perhaps his creators at Project Chrysalis had kept samples of his DNA and frozen a fertilized embryo as a backup plan to their schemes. Yes, that seemed like a logical solution. He had heard that his creators had hidden a fair few genetically modified embryos in a secret laboratory they had called the Cradle. He and his people had spent years searching for this elusive Cradle, in hopes it would help them put an end to their reproductive barrenness. They never did find it in the end.

Yet three hundred years had passed, perhaps this  _Starfleet_  had found the Cradle and this child, this Layla Pike, was their guinea pig to see if they could rear their new generation of soldiers.

He didn't like the idea, and yet nothing else seemed to fit…

He flicked his attention back to Layla's file, his face scanning her ID image keenly. Her eyes, so much like his own, stared back at him, seeming to pierce straight through him even from her blank professional expression in the picture.

She, like him, had known straight away who he was to her, and yet she had no idea of  _who_  he really was. She just thought he was John Harrison, an unknown stranger who had sired her and left her behind. She was obviously bitter about it if her tense behaviour around him was anything to go by.

If only she knew the full truth. That she was the daughter of one of the world's greatest conquerors. That had she been born during his rule she would technically have been royalty, ruling over the humans. Instead, she was a mere lieutenant-commander beneath lesser, more repugnant beings like Alexander Marcus.

Marcus…How the name made his blood boil.

That bastard had kept this child under his watchful gaze for all her life. She had called him uncle and was not afraid to show him the buck. He had assumed she was taking advantage of the fact that her step-father and the man were close friends. However, the more he watched the old man and young woman interact, he could plainly see that Marcus was granting her certain freedoms if only to keep her placated and under his thumb.

_"_ _Sometimes its easier to get a bitch to sit for you if you're nice to it than if you yell at it all the time"_

The Admiral's words wafted over his brain. Words that Khan had overheard him telling one of his little lackeys as Layla had been performing her physical examination.

His fingers clenched tightly around the datapad as pure loathing filled every fibre of his being.

It was one thing to threaten him and the safety of his crew. But to threaten his own flesh and blood, to dangle their lives so carelessly in front of him, was beyond anything Khan could tolerate.

While the idea of simply killing the Admiral the next time he saw him was sorely tempting, he would keep his cool. Revenge was, after all, a dish best served cold, and the cold hearted admiral deserved no less than that.

Oh yes, Khan would play the part of the dutiful hostage. He would build weapons, he would train the little soldiers and do the missions the section demanded of him.

Then he would sweep the rug out from underneath and crush him into a million pieces.

There was just one thing he needed to do before enacting any of this.

He needed to change Layla Pike, into Layla Singh, and to do that he needed to get her to stop hating him.

_Easier said than done._


End file.
